Maximum Ride: Falling Star
by goldenwings1314
Summary: No one can beat the Flock; they've outsmarted, outlasted, and just plain beat anything and everything the world has thrown at them. But this time, they're facing...themselves. Worse, Max's ability to lead is compromised by 2 guys competing for her heart
1. Chapter 1

At precisely 1:00 PM on Friday, the moon entered the sun's path and a total eclipse occurred. Shadow scorched the world and every last corner, every tiny inch of the world, was shrouded in complete darkness. People panicked, they had heard no warning from the government. Scientists jumped into a skittish frenzy, unsure why an eclipse they had not foreseen was happening. The black moon hid the sun and an eerie, blue glow encircled the orb of darkness. At a high school in the state of Arizona were six kids with dark pasts and one great secret. One of these kids was lying unconscious on the floor of the ladies restroom when the eclipse occurred. For some reason, a wave of heat had rushed upon her. Her insides felt scorched, yet there was no pain. With a sudden jolt, Maximum Ride awoke breathing hard on the cold floor.

**6 hours and 30 minutes earlier**

Max POV

I lay gasping for breath on my bed. I was having a nice dream, no more saving the world crap, and suddenly I smelled smoke and the whole world was black. It was like someone had blindfolded me and set the world on fire. Then I realized, just when I could see again, that I was having a sort of nightmare-ish vision

Flyboys led by a boy who had blood-red, crimson wings were flying towards a house. Their wings beat the air and when they were right above the house, they dropped explosives that looked so complex, it looked like something Iggy and Gazzy might have engineered. The house exploded like a millions shards of crystal. Smoke filed high in the sky and flames of fire hungrily crawled all across the forest the house was near. I was sitting on a tree, peering down, when I noticed five kids with wings battling for their lives amidst the flickering red flames. They slowly became surrounded by flyboys…that didn't burn in fire.

The kids bravely raised their fists and one of them, a tall, dark boy, said, "On three!" Just as I realized that it meant on one, my Flock rocketed skywards…right into a trap. The boy with red wings draped the net over my Flock and I screamed. How could this have happened? Why wasn't I there to lead them? Red Wings looked at me and smiled with delight.

"NOOO!" I roared. A cold hand interrupted my scream as it clamped over my mouth.

And that's when I woke up in my bed. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, the vivid pictures flashing ominously through my brain.

"Max?" asked a dark voice.

I jumped and only barely managed not to scream.

"Fang!" I barked. He chuckled.

Opening the door, he peered in and said, "Heard you scream. Something up?"

"No..only you're invading my personal privacy!" I yelled mischievously as I threw a pillow at him. I laughed, but then promptly realized there was a certain gleam in his eyes..

He looked at me and grinned. Tearing into the room, he leapt onto me and pinned me onto the bed. I could practically feel his smirk. Jabbing my elbow into his arm, I twisted around and shoved Fang off me. Sitting up, I began tickling Fang. He laughed until tears came to his eyes.

"Ok, ok- hahaha- ok, Max -haha-, stop. HAHAHA- Max -HAHAHA- please!" whispered Fang desperately between gasps of air. Smirking, I stopped and leaped off the bed. Grabbing a set of clothes, I tore from the room, locked the door from the outside, and scrambled into the bathroom. I hope no one saw me.

"MAX! It's fine with me if you want to change in the bathroom, but don't lock Fang in your room!" yelled my Mom. Man, she sees everything!

"Sorry!" I yelled back.

As I was brushing, something squeeze me hard around the waist.

"Good morning, sweetie," I said as I glanced down at my sweet angel. She smiled and buried her face in my clothes.

"Good morning, Max!" came the muffled squeak of Angel's voice.

Man, I just love this kid.

She looked up at me and said, "I love you too, Max." Then Angel flashed me a smile and dashed out of the bathroom to get breakfast. Nudge's excited chattering reached my ears along with Total's usual complaints. But…there was no sign of Gazzy or Iggy. Walking out of the bathroom, I knocked on their bedroom door. In a sudden burst of activity, quiet shuffles and (almost) soundless steps could be heard. Well, probably not by a human ear, but hey, I'm a bird hybrid.

"GAZZY! IGGY! Stop making bombs! Open up or I'm confiscating everything! Actually, either way, I'm STILL confiscating everything!" I barked loudly. A clatter and the sharp hiss of an intake of breath sounded from behind the door. Angry murmurs erupted and suddenly the door opened. Gazzy stood next to Iggy, who's slim, tall from leaned against the doorway and blocked my view of the room.

"Hey, Max," greeted both Iggy and Gazzy. I looked at them both suspiciously and Gazzy suddenly smiled innocently. Iggy looked away and whistled.

"Ok, step aside and let me see what you did," I said. They looked at each other and stepped away from the doorway. Some kind of greenish liquid was spilled on the floor and shards of glass were strewn across the floor. I turned around to scold those two troublemakers, but no one was behind me.

"Cowards," I muttered. Well, I'll scold them after breakfast. Closing their door, I went to my room and let Fang out.

"Gracias mi amiga," he said smoothly.

"Hurry up, breakfast is already ready," I replied.

Fang looked at me, then walked away, adding, "Yes, unfortunately, it just so happens a certain friend of mine locked me in her room…"

Rolling my eyes, I followed him into the kitchen and sat down. Almost everybody had finished breakfast, so I grabbed a cereal box and poured what was left into my bowl. Adding milk, I began munching on whatever cereal this stuff was.

"Oh, Gazzy and Iggy, you know that science program you guys were talking about? They accepted both of you. Remind me the days you're staying after school for the club," informed Dr. Martinez.

"Davidson High School has a science club where you have to be accepted to join?" I asked. I hadn't heard of that.

"No, bird brain, it's an international club that accepts only the most gifted kids. It just so happens that Davidson High has offered the club to set up their headquarters in the school. You do know, with the club, Gazzy and I will be able to create much more effective, powerful bombs that take up less space," drawled Iggy.

I smirked and said, "Too bad you'll never get to make those bombs, huh?"

"Who says I won't be able to?" asked Iggy with a confused expression.

"You still have to clean up that mess you and Gazzy made in your room. And accordingly, how could you think you'd be able to smuggle anymore bombs past me unless you would want a _lesson_?" I shot back. Iggy held up his hands.

"All right, all right," he grumbled.

"What mess?" demanded Mom. Iggy waved his hand in the air and just mumbled a few words that weren't quite understandable. Mom looked at Iggy, opened her mouth, and settled with sighing. Ella giggled causing Iggy to blush slightly.

"Just don't forget to clean it up, Iggy," Mom said as she gathered everyone's plates and took them to the sink. He nodded and stood up, reaching for his backpack.

"6:50! I think I hear the bus. Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge, STAY here," said Mom. Fang, Iggy, and I said our goodbyes, then headed out the door.

As I boarded the bus, a bad feeling came over me…


	2. Chapter 2

Max POV

Man, this class is so boring, I swear if Mr. What's-his-name says one more thing about science, I am going to explode! Like literally die!

RIINNGG!

Gathering my books and my binder, I slipped out of my seat with relief. Finally. Next period, English. Oh joy…

The hairs on my neck prickled as a certain someone's warm breath washed over me.

"Fang! I told you not to do that, it's creepy!" I whined.

Chuckling, Fang walked beside me and murmured softly, "So how was class?" I groaned loudly.

"That painful, huh?" he laughed.

"You have nooo idea," I replied. Suddenly, a brilliant idea to piss Fang off wormed its way into my head. Grinning, I looked away, and then suddenly shoved Fang against the side of the hallway. Sticking my tongue out, I pushed the ladies restroom door open, and disappeared. Inside, I leaned against the wall cracking up. The look on his face….hahahahaha….it was priceless! Teasing Fang about that will be insanely fun...

Around a minute later, I washed my hands and looked at myself in the mirror. A girl with long blonde hair smiled back at me. Wait, smiling? But I wasn't smiling….

"Max, your world's coming to an end. A new flock's coming. Better, stronger, fitter, smarter…" said my reflection with a smug look. She examined her nails and with a vague interest and then looked at me.

"And you know the best part? You don't have a single clue as to what's happening! It'll be that way to the end," spat my reflection gleefully. She gave me a condescending look and promptly vanished. My real reflection came back on the mirror. I opened my mouth, but succeeded in nothing but stuttering. All of the sudden, I felt dizzy. A wave of heat washed over me and I collapsed against the wall.

"Shit!" I muttered, then fell unconscious.

Fang POV

Where is Max? Class is about to start and she's still not here. Man, if she doesn't get here before 1:00, she'll be in trouble with Mrs. Clyde.

"Whoa!" yelled some kid. I turned toward her. She was staring at the window.

"What?" asked another kid, her friend I guess.

"The sky……it's completely black! I think an eclipse is happening…" whispered the girl.

"An eclipse?!" Kyle answered, his eyes widening, "Are you sure?"

"Look! The only thing I can see is a halo of blue light around where the moon would be," said the girl in a voice that was partly awed and partly frightened. Kyle went over to her and gasped. Suddenly, hordes of kids were swarming around the window. A total eclipse, big deal. Ugh, I'm getting a headache. And I feel dizzy…

Five seconds later, Fang slumped in his chair, unconscious. The students, still in a frenzy at the sky, barely noticed. The teacher entered the room issuing orders to calm down.

"An unpredicted total eclipse is happening. Everyone, please go back to your seats. It'll be over quickly," commanded Mrs. Clyde.

In his Chemistry class, Iggy was holding a bottle of purple-blue liquid when his teacher explained to everyone a total eclipse was occurring as of this moment. _Whoa there…_thought Iggy. Swaying slightly, he placed a hand on the table. Crash! Iggy collapsed, lying unconscious on the floor. The vial of liquid he had been holding lay cracked on the ground beside him. Bits of glass were scattered across the floor and the liquid had spilled out. No one noticed.

Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were eating lunch. All of the sudden, someone ran into the cafeteria.

"There's a total eclipse going on!" yelled the kid. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel looked at each other.

"Do any of you guys feel a little dizzy?" asked Gazzy. Angel, whose face was green, nodded grimly.

"Ugh, I feel so awful. Like I've got a stampede happening in my head! Man, this is becoming a migraine!" groaned Nudge. The three of them glanced at each other, then they all slumped in their seats. Unconscious.

At some place, six hybrids with wings stood on a cliff. The wind whirled around them and roared in their ears. Thunder boomed in the distance. Spreading their red wings, the New Flock flew into the sky with a look of pure evil in their eyes. They had been engineered the same time as Max's flock. But they were stronger, quicker, smarter, more powerful, and overall, better. All six of them had so far spent there entire lives training endlessly to learn the Flock's every move, every thought…

They knew how to destroy them. Because that's what they were created to do…


	3. Chapter 3

Max POV

_I looked around me. All I could see was…gray. I mean seriously! I don't know if the stuff around me was grass, dirt, or who knows what. It was just….gray._

_"This is pleasant," I remarked dryly to the air. The only answer I got was the gentle whoosh of the wind. You know, it could have been thundering and aliens from Mars could have been attacking earth or giant evil bunnies could be dominating the world, but you know what? It would have been impossible to know. The place was so quiet and…gray. The sky was gray, the ground was gray. Usually the world is only gray like this when there is an awful storm and the end of the human race is coming….. Oops, been watching too many End-of-the-Earth stuff I guess._

"_Voice, if you're creating this illusion, remind me to kill you when I get out of here," I muttered. _

_**I'm not doing this. And you can get out of here whenever you want. Just wake up.**_

_Well, long time no listen, Voice._

_**Max, you have to save the world. This is important. Itex has created new hybrids to stop you.**_

_Lalalalala, blah blah, oh, for cripes sake, enough with saving the world already! I've been doing important stuff for you ever since you "created" me. What is it now?!_

_**Remember Omega?**_ _**These new hybrids, they're your….they are your…th..I can't…I don't….**_

_Any day now…_

_**Max, these new hybrids, they're your cousins. Actually they're the flock's cousins.**_

_So you're saying that Itex has created a New Flock?_

_**Not necessarily a New Flock. This Flock is a mirror image of your own. Remember, they're your and the Flock's cousins. This Flock had been created secretly without my knowledge and taught without my knowledge. They have been observing the Flock's every movement, every thought, ever since you were created. The thing is Max…..they understand your Flock probably better than they understand themselves. Then Itex engineered them to be stronger, quicker, and smarter than your flock. The results of this are that they have a slightly shorter lifespan and they can't develop powers like you can. But the point, Max, is that they are better than you and your flock. As of this moment, none of you are any match for them.**_

_Shocked into silence, I said nothing. The information he had given me was very confusing…and not to mention a bit scary.. I have evil cousins that have formed their own flock. Not only that, but my flock is __no match__ for theirs'? It was a little hard to imagine. As hybrids, all of us, even Gazzy and Nudge (Angel has her very scary and powerful mind powers) are incredibly excellent fighters. Sure, slightly overpower, but __no match__? I felt a shiver run down my spine._

_**Max, the ranks in the other flock are all different too. The girl you saw in the mirror before you passed out….that was Xam. She loves to brag, so, no surprise she appeared to you. She isn't the leader of the flock, like you are. She's second in command. Blade's the leader. He's like Fang. Aqua replaces Iggy's position and Zane replaces Nudge. Brianna replaces Gazzy and Demon takes Angel's place. Got it? Blade, Xam, Aqua, Zane, Brianna, and Demon.**_

_Wait, how did Xam appear before me? I thought you said they didn't have any powers. _

_**That's right Max, they don't. Xam used some new device Itex created that allows you to send messages to anyone whenever you want. The Other Flock has this equipment with them, so obviously they have their advantages. Also, Angel's mind powers won't work on them. The strength of their minds is way beyond normal and too hard for her to penetrate let alone control. **_

_I sighed. This was going to be hard to defeat them. If it was possible. _

"_There's always a plan," I muttered. Suddenly, I hear footsteps._

"_Max?" asked a dark, slightly worried voice._

"_Fang?" I questioned, turning around._

_Oh, now you're in my dream too, I thought as the tall figure stared at me in disbelief._

"_I was going to say the same thing…" Fang trailed off. We looked at each other. Oh my god._

_Fang?_

_Yeah, Max?_

_We can talk to each other now without-_

_Talking? Yeah, I think so._

_Oh, sweet mother-_

_Max, did you happen to pass out before coming here?_

_How'd you know that?_

_I passed out too._

_We stared at each other and laughed nervously._

_Freaky._

_Ya think? answered Fang._

"_Max! Are you here? I can hear you and Fang talking!" yelled Iggy._

_Iggy?_

_Whoa, I can hear you in my thou- wait, a second, why is Max's voice in my thoughts?_

_No idea, thought Fang._

_Man, I must have ate too much candy last night, thought Iggy._

_Iggy, this isn't a dream. Here, I'll prove it to you. Did you pass out before you got here? I thought._

…_that's not funny, guys, thought Iggy. _

_Angel! Hurry up! I can hear Max, Fang, and Iggy talki-_

_You mean thinking, I said._

_Max? thought Angel._

_Yeah, sweetie?_

_How come all of us passed out before coming here?_

……

_How did you know everyone passed out? asked Fang. _

_You guys think really loud and besides, Gazzy, Nudge, and I all passed out at the same time, answered Angel._

_Yeah, and I felt really sick and dizzy! piped Nudge._

_You know, this is so cool! We'll be able to talk without talking! And I can chat with everyone forever! Yay! Oh my gosh, this is so coo-_

_Nudge, don't think so loud, thought Iggy with an irritated expression._

_Sorry!_

_Guys, what if there was….say another flock? An evil flock? That Itex created? You know, to kill us. And what if we can't beat them? I thought. I always hate being the party pooper, but hey, someone's got to bring the bad news._

_Everyone became silent and looked at me. I looked at the gray ground and tapped my toe on the ground. Suddenly, my shoes were so interesting._

"_Did the Voice tell you this?" guessed Fang quietly. I nodded._

"_Wait a second Max. Did you say new flock? Better? Evil? Itex? Kill us?" blurted Gazzy. I looked him in the eye and nodded. All at once, all of us thought separate thoughts._

_Crap, thought Fang._

_Shit, thought Iggy._

_Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, Un-_

_Gazzy! I scolded._

_Oh no, thought Angel who had searched my mind and learned everything I knew._

_Heck! exclaimed Nudge._

_Then the gray atmosphere shook and I began to regain conscious._


	4. Chapter 4

Inside a particular ladies restroom of Davidson High School, a figure lay sprawled awkwardly across the floor. The figure was so still, she might have been dead. But just then, she exhaled and her eyelashes flashed open.

Max POV

Opening my eyes, I jumped up only to discover I was too weak, and so settled for leaning on the wall. My heart thumped rapidly in my chest as I tilted my head backwards and closed my eyes. If I ever see the color gray everywhere again, I'll die. So, what was it? A very imaginative dream…or a mental connection all of us had somehow managed to establish? Was our new mental ability a new power?

**Max, I know for sure it's not a new power, but I really don't have much of an idea of what it is. Although, I think the eclipse had something to do with it…**

Don't know what the heck you're talking about, but go on.

**Remember the Others have a stronger mental strength than average hybrids? Well, the eclipse is mainly supposed to help them with something, and since they have relatively stronger minds, they can stand the effect it has on hybrids. But you, Max, and the Flock also have stronger minds than average hybrids, although not as strong as the Others. So, instead of getting hurt, your mental bonds were forced to grasp onto other mental bonds, and in this case, every Flock member grabbed onto another Flock member. Thus allowing mental connection. Very rare and interesting development. I have never seen such a thing before, but it's the most reasonable and sensible explanation.**

Will this mental bond still work now? And what eclipse?

**Fang and the others know. Just try the connection.**

And feel stupid? Silence. Fine. I snapped into an upright position and discovered I had recovered my strength. Walking out of the restroom, I hurried out of the school…

Fang POV

Man, I feel like hurling out my lunch. Groaning, I got up and walked with a slight limp to the door.

"Fang?" asked Mrs. Clyde, "Oh my, you look sick. Go to the restroom and hurry!"

I wanted to glare at the lady, but instead nodded, and walked out of the classroom.

Outside, I placed a hand against the wall and closed my eyes as the dizziness slowly went away. Quiet, and peace, that's what I need.

_Fang?_

Jumping up, I stumbled and fell on my butt. The connection…it works. I could swear I just heard Max's voice.

_Jeez, Max! You scared me!_

_Sorry. Meet me outside the scho-_

Max's sentence was cut short as a running blur crashed into me and fell on top of me. I looked at the face inches from mine and could say nothing but look in shock. Max's blue eyes stared back at mine, both of us at loss for words. Abruptly, a red blush heated Max's face as she muttered apologies. I was holding her arm, and upon realizing it, I let go immediately. My heart fluttered as Max pushed herself off my body and stood up. Face still red, Max held out her hand to help me up. I took it and pulled myself up.

"Well, I guess I don't have to go looking for you now," mumbled Max quietly. I laughed nervously, thinking of the flip-flop my heart had done…

Looking directly at her frame, slim and beautiful, I smiled. Her blue eyes were like bright-blue, sharp crystals, beautiful, but dangerous. I love Max. I always would. But Max would never love me back in the same way.

Max POV

Jesus Christ. I can't get his handsome, dark-brown eyes out of my head. Arghh, I don't like Fang! Not in that way! No, it's not possible. He's my best friend, not someone I could have feelings for. I wish…I wish Fang loved me. WHAT AM I SAYING? I….I….I might like Fang. UGH!

Fang POV

As I watched Max's expression change from sadness to anger a billion times, I wondered what she was arguing about. Maybe I should ask her.

_Max? You ok?_

Turning to look at me, she smiled.

_I'm fine, Fang. Don't worry._

I nodded and said, "All we have to do is find Iggy now,"

"Find me? Who needs to find me? I'm looking for you!" exclaimed Iggy as he screeched to a halt from dashing down the hall.

Why's Iggy so happy? His face is practically glowing with happiness…

"Iggy, did you take a happy pill or something? You look like a chipmunk who just found a stash of nuts," said Max dryly.

Iggy rolled his eyes and said innocently, "What do you have against chipmunks?"

Max shoved him lightly in the shoulder. He laughed and shoved her back.

Before Max could murder chipmunk boy, I interrupted them with an urgent look.

"Max, why'd you want me to meet you outside of the school?" I asked. She looked at me and sighed, her face serious.

"It's time to get back on the streets," answered Max. I looked at her with a confused look.

"The Others are probably coming, even if we are in a public school, so, we have to leave," continued Max, "We'll go back home, pack, and take off. Well, after saying bye to Mom and Ella. But either way, we're on the run once again."

Iggy nodded and said, "Then let's go. We have to pick up Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel, remember?"

I nodded, but without any real thought. On the run again. Always being hunted, I hated it. Our lives would never move on like a real kid's and we would never be normal. Was it to be our fate? Our doom?

"Fang?" asked Max. She was peering at me with arched eyebrows. Oops, must have zoned out.

"Yeah?" I said.

"I said, what does the Voice mean by 'eclipse'?" repeated Max impatiently.

"While you were in the restroom, a total eclipse occurred. The whole sky became black and the only "light" was this halo of blue light around the darkened moon. It's over now, however. The sky is just gray," I explained.

Max seemed to think about this, then quickly she rushed out of Davidson High School. Iggy laughed and followed after her. Looking around me, I sighed and stepped out of the school, letting the door close with a solid slam behind me.

Max POV

After picking up Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy, we went home. Iggy was explaining to the kids what was going on and Fang was staring off into space…again. He seemed to be doing that a lot more often now. Whatever. I unlocked the door and stepped in.

"Hi Mom!" I yelled.

"Max? Why are you home so early?" answered Mom, "Something wrong?"

"Kind of," I said wearily. Catching Fang's gaze, I nearly laughed. "Kind of"? That was stupid. Things weren't "kind of" wrong, they're "anybody's worst nightmare" wrong. As Mom looked at me with confusion, I led my Flock to the kitchen table, grabbed a fresh cookie, and began a long explanation.


	5. Chapter 5

Max POV

Mom looked at me in amazement and a small bit of fear.

"Mom? Look, Mom, I really love you and Ella. I would never ever want to leave you, but I have to. If I stay, you'll be in danger. I don't want that to happen, so the Flock and I have to go," I said gently.

She sighed, and nodded with understanding. Her face looked pain…but she didn't make any move to stop me. She was a strong person…and the best mom in the world.

Dr. Martinez came over and hugged me, whispering, "Try and be safe. And remember you can always come back here for help or just anything."

I hugged her hard in response and then went to call Ella.

"Max…I should call her," said Mom. I handed her the phone and stepped back.

Five minutes later, Ella burst in from the front door and stormed right past the kitchen, yelling my name. I wonder what her excuse to the principle was for having to leave. I mean, it's really _perfectly_ normal and reasonable to say, "my sister, who is a mutant, is being hunted by her evil mutant cousins and so she has to leave, which means I have to go say "bye"…

Ella found us in the kitchen upon realizing we weren't upstairs. She stormed right up to me, and I swear, steam was coming out of her ears.

"…Why? Why are you doing this to us? We're your family and you're leaving us just to have another adventure!! I admired you! WHY MAX?! WHY?" she seethed.

I hugged her, guilt consuming my conscious.

"I'm sorry, Ella," I said quietly. Ella sobbed quietly into my shoulder, misery shaking her body.

Iggy walked over and gave me a look that said, _May I?_ I nodded and Iggy took her away from me. He wrapped his long arms around her. Pulling her gently, but firmly into him, Iggy leaned his head on Ella's and hugged her. Then he pulled back and kissed her with such care, as well as hungry compassion, I let my mouth drop in shock. Ella was so surprised, she didn't react except to wrap her arms around Iggy's lanky form and kiss him back. Breaking apart to take a breath, Iggy smiled gently with kindness.

"Your eyes are such a beautiful milky brown," he whispered then kissed her again. She giggled then, suddenly her eyes widened and she broke away.

"Wait, what'd you say about my eyes?" she asked.

"Don't get obnoxious, Ella. I just said you have beautiful brown eyes," teased Iggy.

Ella screamed. Then she hugged him and said, "How?"

I stared at her in confusion. What was she talking about?

"A new power," said a grinning Iggy. I looked at him and Ella, and then turned with a hopeless look on my face to Fang. He smirked and mouthed, "Pay attention and you might understand English for once". I rolled my eyes and looked back at Iggy. He must have finished explaining his "new power" to Ella, because he was staring at me with a wide smirk on his face.

"Confused, Max?" he asked gleefully.

"YES, maybe you should explain," I said meaningfully.

"Well, it's not really an extremely helpful power…" Iggy said.

"Iggy! Stop stalling and tell me! Never mind, I'll ask Ella…" I said with an annoyed expression.

I looked at Ella with raised eyebrows, but she said, "Iggy made me promise not to tell you since he wanted to do it."

"And annoy me to death while telling me," I replied.

"Angel, read Iggy's mind," I commanded. She zoned out for a second as she concentrated on Iggy. Iggy's face was also rigid with concentration.

"Don't try to resist, Iggy. It's basically impossible," I said triumphantly. Iggy sighed and relaxed.

"Want to tell them, Angel?" asked Iggy wearily (fighting Angel takes a lot of strength..).

She smiled and said, "Iggy can see! Well, he can't see very well, but he can see our body heat, and so, he can see us and some details. Usually, the color of something is what he can "pick up", but sometimes he can see our facial features!"

Wow. I hadn't been expecting that. And I hadn't really expected Iggy to get together with Ella the day we had to leave…

Mom opened the front door from outside and called back to us, "Your stuff's ready! Each of you has small, compact backpacks with food, clothes with openings for your wings, and some money. Angel and Nudge, you each have a small stuffed toy. I think it's a teddy bear and an angel. Fang, you have a top-security Itex laptop, courtesy of Jeb, and Max, you have a phone, also courtesy of Jeb. Gazzy and Iggy, he gave you two a box with some materials. I think you'll like it…it says "CAUTION: NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND EXPLOSIVE CHEMICALS INSIDE".

Sweet. Phone's good for me. I might have to do something about Gazzy and Iggy's box of destruction and chaos, however. I turned to my Flock and cocked my head expectantly.

"Thanks!" said Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy at the same time. Fang nodded gratefully and Iggy smiled happily. I hugged Mom and told her thank you.

She nodded sadly, but there a was a hint of pride in her expression. Iggy and Ella embraced, kissed, and hugged each other, much to the surprise of Mom.

She laughed, then said, "It sure took you two long enough."

Ella blushed, but Iggy said, "At least we got together! The other two love-struck idiots are still being 'just friends'."

Mom laughed and said to me, "That's true, Max."

I rolled my eyes and Fang snorted.

"Whatever," we both said. Then Fang opened the front door and motioned for me to go. I walked out and he followed me.


	6. Chapter 6

Max POV

Ah, the air, it feels great to be in the sky again. After saying 'bye' once and for all to Dr. Martinez and Ella, we left into the sky. Haha, that sounds funny, 'we left into the sky'. Hybrids rule, I decided happily.

"Where to, Max?" yelled Fang over the roaring wind. I shrugged.

"Maaaaax, it's getting dark, and I'm hungry! Can we stop at a hotel?" pleaded Nudge.

"Only for tonight," I agreed. Nudge and Angel cheered. Gazzy flew over to Iggy and the two started planning something…probably about that chaos package they received from Jeb. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a nice hotel.

"Ok, guys! Let's stop at that one!" I said pointing at the hotel. Fang looked and nodded. Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy descended in a V - formation. Iggy pulled in his wings and began free fall. He whooped in delight, not spreading his wings until the very last second. A loud whoosh could be heard as Pyro's wings battled gravity and speed. He landed safely and smoothly in an alley. Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy followed.

"Remind me to kill Iggy when I see him," I said to Fang. He grinned then wrapped his arms around me, forcing my wings to retract.

"It's seriously fun, Max. I'll show you," he said into my ear. I blushed slightly as his strong arms gripped my waist. With a sudden movement, Fang pulled in his wings. We began to free fall, like Iggy, but unlike Iggy, we were spinning. Fang muttered something and suddenly we were falling correctly. If you can fall correctly.

"Sorry, one of my wings wasn't really closed," he said. I rolled my eyes and snorted. Then I tensed as I realized how close that wall of bricks was to us...

Fang said, "Hold on." He tightened his grip and spread his black wings. We almost crashed into the building, but Fang twisted and we landed in the alley…hard.

"Ow," I said. Fang smirked and let me go.

Nudge and Angel giggled and Angel's voice interrupted my thoughts, "_Max, you guys looked so cute!_"

"Man, what was that? Dude, you like totally messed up!" said Iggy as he strode up to Fang.

"Try carrying someone, Iggy, and maybe you'll realize how hard it is," replied Fang. Iggy clapped Fang on his back and shook his head sadly.

Around ten minutes later, the Flock trampled into the adjoining rooms we had got.

"Iggy and I claim the room on the left!" said Gazzy as he opened the door and disappeared with Iggy into the room.

I opened the room on the right and smiled at Nudge and Angel. They greeted me happily and showed me their toys.

"I named my teddy bear Teddy!" said Nudge happily.

"That's….creative," I said tentatively. Angel hugged me and picked up her angel.

"Her name's Lily," murmured Angel. She hugged her angel and smiled sweetly at me. I smiled back and sat at the edge of Nudge's bed.

"Be in bed by 9:00 okay?" I said gently to both of them. They nodded and went back to talking about their toys.

Exiting their room, I saw Fang typing on his new laptop.

"So, how many people are eating up your words?" I asked as I flopped onto the bed.

"I don't know. The hit counter thing broke. But you know, I have more than a billion messages from people," said Fang.

"I wonder how many people actually take you seriously," I teased.

He snorted and said, "You'd be amazed, Max."

I shrugged, grabbed a set of clothes from my backpack, and entered the bathroom.

"I'm gonna hit the showers," I told Fang. He nodded absently and his fingers became a blur as they typed something onto the laptop.

Fang POV

Max didn't really believe that some people actually cared, but she doesn't usually read my blog. I wonder if I should ask the readers how they feel about Max and me…damn, she was so hot.

No, I don't think I will. Can't have too many people knowing, specially if Max wouldn't ever like me back. The thought was rather depressing.

Max began humming in the shower and I smiled. No one could ever be as perfect as she was.

Max POV

As I exited the bathroom, I jumped onto the bed, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV.

Fang closed his laptop, exchanged it for a set of clothes, and disappeared into the bathroom.

The TV started saying something about bad weather tomorrow, but I wasn't really listening. I looked at the bed with a frown. It was so _small_.

_Ughhhh, what if he tries something…_

_That's so cute Max! Fang was thinking about you too…_

_Yeah, he thought you were hot! And perfect!_

_Angel! Nudge! Stop listening to my thoughts!_

_But you two are taking forever to realize that you both like each other!_

_Fang and I are really close, yes, but it's strictly family. He's like a brother to me. Now, tit's 9:00, start sleeping. NO listening to anybody's thoughts anymore. _

They grumbled and I felt their presence leave my mind. Wow. We can feel each other's presence now?

**The mental bond may increase over time…**

I gritted my teeth and sighed.

**I thought you would like to know that Fang's laptop has the passwords and locations of every Itex-related operation, building, and site.**

What are we supposed to do about the Others?

**Forget about them for now, Max. You'll need time to develop new powers so combating the Others is actually possible.**

Forget about them?!?!?! That's not exactly easy. And what do you want us to do? Just sit around for a couple centuries and wait for our "new powers"?

**It won't take too long. Iggy already got the first of his new powers.**

I blinked. The _first_? We're all getting new powers? Are you giving them to us? Silence, as usual.

Fang opened the bathroom door and saw me frowning.

"The Voice?" he inquired.

I nodded, "It's confusing me! It says everyone might get new powers or something like that," I ranted impatiently.

Fang shrugged and climbed onto the bed after hesitating for a second. I scooted over to give him some room.

"Night, Max," Fang mumbled sleepily.

"Night, Fang," I murmured. He held out his fist and I stacked mine on top of it.

"Too bad the kids are already asleep. They would have wanted to stack fists," I remarked.

"They won't be terribly upset just because they missed one night," answered Fang. I laughed, knowing he was right, and saw him relax.

I turned off the lights and curled into a small ball.

Fang POV

Max curled into a small ball. I frowned. Was she cold? I glanced at her angelic face, a lot more relaxed when she was asleep, and smiled sadly. Her hair was softer than silk, and her wings were more beautiful than anything in the world. They were pure white and soft. I trailed my finger along her wing and she shuddered in her sleep. I smiled and closed my eyes. I love Max. I don't want to deny it any longer.


	7. Chapter 7

Fang POV

I blinked and groaned as bright light filled the room.

"Nudge! I'm getting up, all right? Just shut the fricking blinds!" I pleaded as I stumbled blindly on the floor.

"Fang, it's 6:00! Max says it's time to leave. She says to hurry," explained Nudge as she giggled and skipped out of the room.

_And when I mean hurry, I mean NOW! growled Max's voice in my head._

_What's the rush? I responded, annoyed._

Half to me and half to herself, Max thought, _It was right…_

I frowned and rubbed my eyes. Walking to the bathroom, I remembered that Max said the Voice told her that we would get new powers or something like that…

And now Max thinks It was righ- wait, the Voice is RIGHT? New powers? I gagged on my toothpaste and spat it out, coughing loudly.

Holy shit. But…how did Max know the Voice was right? I dropped my toothbrush and ran out of the bathroom.

Angel POV

Max looked faintly stressed as she looked at Iggy, who was grinning along with Gazzy. Nudge gaped at them with a mixture of envy and awe. Squeezing Lily, I entered Max's mind and probed what she knew.

Hmmm…Max's mind has gotten stronger. I can't read anything she's not thinking at the moment.

_Max? What's wrong? Is it Iggy's new power?_

_Sweetie, it's ok. Don't worry, nothing's wrong._

_Max, I know you're hid-_

Fang burst into Iggy and Gazzy's room looking worried and confused at the same time.

"What's going on?" he demanded. He looked angry now, as he stared at us, eyes flickering back and forth from Max to the grinning Iggy.

Max rolled her eyes and said, "Calm down, Fang. No one's hurt."

He looked at Iggy, suspicion written all over his face, as he said hesitantly, "What's Iggy's new power?"

"Give a million dollars to the man in black! Well done, Mr. Fang, you guessed it!" roared Iggy with a grin.

Max laughed at Fang's annoyed expression and pointed at Nudge, who was jumping up and down.

"Oh! Oh! I know! Fang, it's absolutely awesome! I can't believe Iggy got another awesome power! And it's fun too! Manipulating fire and all, man, who wouldn't want that power!" gushed Nudge rapidly as she kept bouncing on the floor.

Fang stared at her, uncomprehending, then his eyes widened.

"Manipulating fire!?!?!?!" he choked out.

"Yup," said Max, who looked utterly annoyed and worried now.

"Watch this, man," said Iggy as he took out a match. He lit it, and almost as soon as he did, the fire leapt high in the air and flickered to the left, then the right, sending sparks as it did so flying everywhere. Iggy grinned and with a sudden movement, the fire resembled the shape of a blooming lotus. Then a shape of an explosion, every detail exaggerated with slowness. I might have believed that the match was actually exploding if the explosion wasn't happening so slowly. Max snorted while Gazzy and Nudge gaped at the firework display.

Fang muttered, "Show off. Who would give him so many new powers?"

Max frowned.

Max POV

**Max, I think some flyboys are coming. Leave the hotel in five minutes.**

_Right, thanks._

**You're welcome.**

I sighed and found my Flock staring at me. Iggy had stopped his fire show and Fang's eyes were bulging out of his head.

"Oh. My. God." they all said at once. I looked at them with a perplexed expression and flexed my fingers. They felt kinda strange…

The Flock moved back, all the while staring at my fingers. I frowned and held up my hands.

The flock ducked and I laughed. Were they afraid of hands? But their faces were stricken with real fear…

I glanced at my hands and gasped.

Chapter 7, Part 2

Max POV

Holy-whoa. This was AWESOME. I flexed my fingers and smiled. The small bursts of energy that I was grasping in my hands grew in power, then waned in power. I stared at them, tried to make them disappear, and found they went away. I tensed and the blue glowing energy surges appeared again around my hand. I looked at the wall behind me, and smiled evilly. With a flick of my hand, a ball of energy flew from my hand and hit the wall. A bright light filled the room as the energy bolt hit the wall and exploded. A _soundless_ explosion filled the room and the Flock covered their eyes. I didn't need to, I could see perfectly fine in the bright light. As the light went away, I gasped at the large gap in the wall. It was wide enough and high enough so that I could stand in there with my wings spread!

"Uh, Max, I don't think we should be blowing holes in hotels," remarked Iggy I glared at him (uselessly).

"But I'm glad you're interested in blowing things up! I have brought you to the dark side! Now NOTHING will stop me from making bombs and blowing things up for eternity!" he cackled evily.

I was about to strangle Iggy, but a couple flying, butt-ugly, fly-boy shapes were coming our way.

"Uh-oh. Flyboys. Time to go, guys!" I announced. I walked over to Iggy.

"Thinks we can U and A outta of this hole?" I asked because he has a wonderful sense of proportions, and now, since he can see, it's even better.

"Oh yeah, we'll fit just fine thanks to you," he said. We gathered our backpacks and stood at the back of the room. Iggy ran and leaped off the hole, spreading his wings as he soared into the air. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel went after him. Fang looked at me and dashed into the sky. I ran and followed him.

Up in the air, Iggy had taken out a lighter (where did he get that? I don't remember agreeing he could buy that) and blew fire onto the flyboys. They hesitated, but kept going. Oh crap, these new models couldn't burn in fire! Wait, that sounds familiar…

_Flashback…_

_I was sitting on a tree, peering down, when I noticed five kids with wings battling for their lives amidst the flickering red flames. They slowly became surrounded by flyboys…that didn't burn in fire._

I grimaced, hoping the rest…the capture of the flock…wouldn't come true in some way. I tensed as the flyboys neared the Flock. Time to kick some flyboy butt.

I dodged as the foot of a flyboy came my way and retaliated by grabbing his still outstretched foot and twisting it. With a sharp movement, I snapped his metal leg in half and tossed away the broken part. The flyboy snickered and continued fighting as if he wasn't injured at all. I frowned, grabbed his fist which was going sluggishly to my face in a pathetic punch, and punched his face. He fell backwards, and before he could look up, I spun and crashed my heel against his stomach, _hard_. He choked out and began falling. I did a quick 360 check up on the gang.

Nudge was playing with the flyboys, dodging them nimbly and sticking her tongue out, before striking out precisely and quickly at every one of them so that they all fell at the same time. That kid was an amazing fighter. Gazzy was…holding a small silver ball. He cackled and let several flyboys close in around him before shooting upwards and dropping the new bomb on all of them. Silver clouds of smoke surrounded maybe fifty flyboys as they exploded into a billion pieced and plummeted towards the far ground. Hmmm. I thought they were fire-resistant.

Gazzy, noticing my confusion, crowed out, "These new mini-nuclear bombs are way awesome, Max!" Well, that explains it. Either the flyboys aren't nuclear resistant or are only fire-proof to a certain degree. Speaking of fire, where's Pyro? I looked downwards and found Iggy scorching the flyboys with _blue fire_. Now he can make his fire blue? Geez… I watched as the flyboys burnt and dropped like dead flies.

"Way to go, Pyro!" I called out. Iggy grinned and went to deal with some more flyboys.

Fang was fighting it out the old-fashion way, dealing with whoever happened to be in his path, and quickly smashing the idiot apart. His face looked so calm, relaxed even. I'll never get that. I sighed and had the strange feeling to…duck. A bullet went flying over my head as a flyboy with a large black gun hovered a few feet from me. He had a black band with a bolt of lightning on his wrist and he was smirking confidently. I groaned. Now the flyboys have ranks? This guy was a leader, no doubt, and he has a big, big gun. I hate guns. That's why I don't let the Flock use guns. But who says I haven't trained them to deal with them? I smiled sweetly at the overconfident flyboy before whipping my wings close. I dropped for a second, then spread my wings and flew behind the startled flyboy. He whirled around, pointed the gun at me, and began to shoot. I flew up close to the flyboy, grabbed his arm…which was _glued_ to the gun…and wrenched it apart. The gun went flying off along with a part of the flyboy's mechanical hand. The flyboy's face contorted in anger. He lashed out a fist, but I caught it. Holding his arm, I slammed my foot into his stomach and watched him recoil. Grabbing his shoulder, I hit his shoulder blade/wing and snapped a kick into his spine. He crumpled and fell. Man, Itex really needs to update their "creations". They fight so badly. Well, all the better for me and the flock. As the flock finished off the rest of flyboys, I looked around to count heads and check for injuries. No one's hurt (not surprising)…but where's Nudge?

"Nudge? Nudge! Nudge!" I yelled. A small pretty brown sparrow flew by me and decided to perch on me. It looked up at me, and for a second, I could have sworn it was smiling happily. I shrugged and scanned the area for Nudge. The sparrow flew in front of my face and began chirping loudly. I turned away, but the sparrow came back. Man, this sparrow is so weird and un-sparrow like. I froze and looked at the sparrow.

"Nudge?!?!?!" I asked the flying sparrow. The sparrow sighed (can sparrows sigh?) and suddenly it transformed into…Nudge.

"Max, it takes you forever to guess anything! But isn't my power cool? I can morph into different animals! This is so awesome, even better than Iggy's fire manipulating ability! I can talk to animals too! They say the most amazing things. I never knew animals thought so much. They actually have minds!" burst Nudge happily. I blinked and blinked and- ok, that's going to go on forever, so I'll just say I was utterly stunned. I gaped at Nudge while she continued chatting about animals and how they think and all the things she can be.

"When did you…how…Wha….huh?" I blurted. Nudge stared at me and laughed.

"You look so funny, Max. Oh, your hands are glowing again. Careful, don't hurt anybody," said Nudge cheerfully.

The rest of the Flock noticed us and gathered around me and Nudge. I looked at Fang then at Nudge, and tried to say something, but only succeeding in failing.

"What happened?" asked Fang, looking like he already knew.

I gave him a look and he nodded expectantly.

"New powers," muttered Fang.


	8. Chapter 8

Gazzy POV

Max tapped her foot angrily, her face taut with concentration, as she "sparred" with the Voice. I can't believe how much is going on! Things haven't been this exciting since we were on the run. And now the new bombs Jeb gave Iggy and me…it's so awesome!

Abruptly Max stood up. Fang rose as well, worry in his eyes. He was always worried about Max, I don't get him anymore. They exchanged a few words and turned towards us. I took one glance at the expression on both of their faces and felt like sighing and grinning at the same time. Oh boy, here we go.

Fang POV

I'm not sure what's what anymore. After Max finished her conversation, she told me we might all be getting new powers, mainly as a side-effect of the eclipse. I asked her why it would give us powers when it had strengthened our mental bond already. She shrugged and I had felt uneasy because the look in her eyes, it was one of doubt. She then turned to the flock.

"Alright, guys, listen up and brace yourselves. Remember I told you there is another Flock? That's better than us? Well, with our new powers, we might stand a chance of beating them. So, before they get us, let's go get Itex's new invention. However, there may be something bigger at play here." Max paused.

"There's only a certain amount of time before Itex makes its final stand. They'll destroy the world's "weak" population, but not by half. Everything weak is wiped out. To put it in three words, no more humans. Well, I don't think the world would like me to sit around while Itex plans to destroy humans in a huge genocide. So…you guys ready?" asked Max.

For a second, no one said anything. Then in a loud explosion of voices the Flock sprang up yelling threats to Itex.

Max POV

As the Flock gathered around me, I could not help but feel a sense of belonging and happiness. These were my kids, my best friends, my fighters. If the new flock lays just one finger on my Flock, they're getting hell and worse.

"Okay, guys. First thing we have to do is figure out the rest of your powers. We need to know our abilities before we do anything. I'm thinking they start to show up based on need," I said as I glanced at everyone's eager, scared, happy faces, "Which means, sparring. But no stopping until you either get your power or are too weak."

Gazzy piped, "Max, can I go first? I want to see my power!"

"Gazzy, you might get a power. You already can mimic voices-"

"And you can fly at hyper speed! You still got a new power! Please?" interrupted Gazzy.

I hesitated, but then nodded.

"Alright, a Flock member will engage you in battle using traditional, no-powers combat and maybe your power will show up in the middle of the battle," I said.

Gazzy grinned.

"Cool! Like sparring practice!" he exclaimed. Angel looked at him and walked up to me.

"Max, let me spar him. Maybe both our powers will come at the same time," whispered Angel into my ear. I hesitated. Angel was a good fighter…with her mind powers. In actual combat, Gazzy is slightly better than her. Angel looked at me.

_Trust me, Max, I'll be fine. Like Gazzy said, think of it as sparring practice. He won't go overboard._

I sighed.

"All right, Gazzy, you'll be fighting Angel," I announced. Gazzy looked at Angel and his face fell.

"But without her powers, I'm better than her," he said bluntly.

"Don't be so sure," said Nudge. She looked at me and Gazzy with a hint of pride.

"I've been practicing with Angel, and I think she's gotten better!" said Nudge happily.

"Alright, it's agre-"

"Max! You're asking Gazzy to fight Angel!" interrupted Fang angrily.

"She'll be fine, Fang. We need to develop their powers, time's running out!" I said impatiently.

Fang opened his mouth but Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel all looked at him. They must be exchanging thoughts, but it was over quickly because Fang backed down and relaxed. He nodded his agreement and I proceeded.

"I think this clearing here is good enough. Everyone, except the opponents, please step away. Gazzy and Angel, start on my count, got it?" They nodded and the rest of the flock stepped back to give them room. This is going to be interesting.

Gazzy POV

I looked at Angel and felt unsure. This was my sister for heaven's sake! But it's sparring practice. I hope she really has gotten better. I held up my fists and watched Angel do the same. Here we go.

Angel POV

Gazzy and I are fighting! Finally I can prove that I'm just as good as him. But I don't want to hurt him. His thoughts are unsure. Maybe I should help him.

_Gazzy, it's ok. You won't hurt me for real. Just pretend I'm Nudge or Iggy. Do your best. Max is going to start counting. Good luck!_

Gazzy smiled and nodded. He assumed a fighting stance with confidence. That's more like it.

Max POV

Ooh, the pains and excitement of sibling rivalry.

"On the count of five, ok? One, two, three, four, FIVE!" I yelled. Immediately both of them took off from the ground, apparently both preferring air battles. The Flock cheered loudly. Nudge shouted her encouragement for Angel while Iggy cheered for Gazzy. They glared at each other and tried to shout louder than the other. Fang shook his head with an amused look, but narrowed his eyes as he watched the siblings fight. I laughed at his concentration before turning to my little, extremely dangerous fighters battle it out.

Gazzy POV

I leaped into the air, spreading my wings as I did so when Max shouted five. Angel did the same, her wings flapping strongly in the air. I shot into the sky with Angel on my tail. I twisted my body so that I was facing the ground and tried to land a roundhouse kick on Angel's stomach. She rolled away, dodging the kick and nicking me in the head with a punch at the same time. I gritted my teeth and tried to locate Angel again. I couldn't see her…

Angel kicked me in the back and I groaned, but I quickly whirled around and punched Angel in the gut. She faltered, before hitting my jaw in retaliation.

I recoiled and Angel kicked my face. I began to fall from the sky…

Angel POV

Gazzy's wings closed and he began to fall. I gasped. Oh no! Then Gazzy suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed my foot. He pulled me down, and twisted my arm. I yelped. I jabbed my elbow into his face and heard him groan. As he let go of my arm, I twisted to punch him…and found air. A fist collided with my head, then my stomach. A kick sent me in circles. How is Gazzy fighting so fast?

Gazzy POV

When Angel jabbed her elbow into my eye, I released her arm and flew above her. Turning, I sent a punch to her head. Flying in front of her, I punched her stomach and kicked her. She seemed confused as she fell back from the kick. Except she was going in…um…well….slow motion. I flew up to her and caught her. She looked at me slowly and opened her mouth slowly. I raised my hand and steadied her. Surprise covered her face. I calmed my emotions and heart.

"Angel, what's wrong?"

"Gazzy, you were moving super fast! Your hand was…OMG! You know how Max can fly at hyper speed? I think your power is that you can make yourself move at really fast speeds. Your hand, body, everything!"

I mulled over this for a second before grinning.

""That's why it seemed like YOU were moving in slow motion!" I exclaimed. Angel looked at me like "what the heck are you talking about?".

"Never mind. But you're new power hasn't come yet, so wanna keep fighting?"

Angel grinned.

"You bet,"

I looked down at an anxious Max and a confused Flock. I gave them a thumbs up and Angel sent Max a thought. Max hesitated and nodded. She turned and explained everything to the flock. I turned to Angel to find her gone….

I ducked as a fist flew over my head. I swiped my leg against Angel's legs and she crumpled. Angel gritted her teeth and flapped her wings so she was right in front of me. She punched my jaw and chest twice before kicking my stomach. I recoiled and jumped into the air. Twirling, I jammed my heel into…nothing. Angel wasn't there. Quickly, I looked backwards. She suddenly moved away just as I began to thrust a foot backwards. I moved my fist towards her face but she ducked as I struck out. It was like she could predict everything I was going to do……

Angel blocked my next punch, twisted my arm, and jammed her heel into my chest. I flew backwards and tried to block her next punch but she seemed to know I was going to raise my hands because she kicked my stomach instead of punching. I groaned.

"Angel….Stop! Stop! You got your power!" I yelled. Angel couldn't hear me. I concentrated and flew upwards. As Angel turned around, I sped towards her and kicked her. She stumbled as she raised her arms, apparently predicting my move, but forgetting I could go faster than normal. Grabbing her arms, I told her to stop with my thoughts. Angel clamped her hands over her ears and shouted in pain.

"Gazzy! I can hear you perfectly fine! You don't need to send so many thoughts into my head! Ow! You know, it hurts!" complained Angel.

"Oh, sorry. You couldn't hear me before. Anyway, you got your power! Ok? We can stop fighting!" I said tiredly. Angel blinked then smiled.

"Cool! What is it?" she asked.

"You've been using it and you don't even know? Not one hint?" I asked in disbelief. Angel thought and smiled.

"I can predict movements before they happen. But only what affects me, right?" she said. I shrugged.

"HEY!" shouted Max.

I smiled at Angel and motioned for her to go first. Angel laughed and flew towards the ground. I followed her with a smile on my face, pride filling my heart


	9. Chapter 9

Max POV

As Gazzy and Angel landed on the ground, I was surprised to see both of them covered in bruises.

"Oh my Jesus, how you holding up you guys?" I asked both of them worriedly.

"We're fine!" said Angel and Gazzy at the same time. I arched my eyebrows. Their energetic but tired faces gazed eagerly back into mine.

_Max, max! You gotta see our new powers!_

_Yeah, it's SO COOL!!!_

_Don't worry, honestly, we'll be fine!_.

"Alright, Gazzy and Angel, amaze us!" I agreed.

They looked at each other and a flurry of whispers filled the air. Apparently, Gazzy decided to show us his power first.

He began running and soon he became a blur zipping around us. He slowed down, ran to a tree and spun. Right before his foot slammed the tree, he went into super high speed. The tree cracked. Gazzy continued with three consecutive punches. The tree split in half, the top half crashing to the ground. Gazzy exited super speed mode and grinned at us.

"Wow," said Nudge. The rest of us simply stared at him in awe. Gazzy grinned maniacally.

"Cool, right?" he asked. Iggy gave him a look that said _cool doesn't justify it dude_ then slapped fives with him. Angel stepped up and looked at me expectantly.

"Go ahead," I encouraged.

Turning to Fang, she said, "Punch me."

He raised his eyebrows, then punched Angel in one swift strong motion.

Angel grabbed Fang's hand. Fang instinctively raised his other hand and punched her. She dodged that one. Jeez, that happened in a split second, and Angel still dodged it. It's like she knows wh-

"You can predict the future?" I asked, stunned.

"No, not really, I can only see your next movements that are going to affect _me_. But _only_ your next movements, not like my whole future," corrected a smiling Angel.

Fang's thoughts drifted into my head.

_Max...I don't have any powers yet._

"We'll just have to get Iggy to battle you…but in the morning. It's really dark right now. Let's set up camp," I told him sympathetically. It must suck, watching us get so many new powers while Fang had nothing, nothing except blending in with the environment.

The Flock murmured in agreement and we set to the task of collecting firewood.

Awhile later….

Max POV

The Flock sat around the fire chatting happily as we ate marshmallows. Fang stared into the fire. His warm, chocolate brown eyes flickered and glowed as the reflection of fire danced in his eyes. He looked up and smiled at me. I smiled, startled by his sudden show of brotherly affection. Or was it brotherly? I felt myself blush. Crap. I stood up and announced I was going to take a walk. No one really noticed. I entered the woods and came upon a cliff edge. I sat down and let my legs dangle. The sky was very pretty, a dark midnight blue. In contrast, bright stars glowed into the night sky. So much was going on. I felt tired and excited. The Voice had given me another task. The task of defeating "family" and saving the entire human race. Why me? I'm a teenager with huge hormone problems. Sometimes I just don't understand this world, let alone the minds of crazy, evil geniuses. Fang settled down next to me. Without thinking, I leaned against him and let out a tired sigh. He hugged me and I was too tired to blush and think about what this scene looked like.

"It's ok, Max. The Flock's here for you," whispered Fang.

"I know," I said.

In the Artic….

Blade POV

I cursed and kicked the ground.

"Damn Itex! They sent us here to fu—ing spar in the fu—ing cold snow!" I shouted.

Xam watched me with boredom.

"Stop acting like kid. We have to get ready for THEM now they have new powers. That is, unless you want to get defeated by our weak cousins," she drawled.

Aqua whispered, "Besides, cold enhances our senses. Our abilities, they're stronger. We just have to get used to the cold. Then lure our friends here and kill them."

"I can beat them today, anywhere! New powers don't make up for all their weaknesses," I shouted angrily.

Demon glanced at me.

"Careful, Blade, you're letting anger take hold of you," he said quietly.

I glared at him, "Shut up,"

Blade turned to me, fire in his eyes.

"Don't underestimate me," he warned. I drew out two long jagged red blades and held them in front of me confidently. Demon took out two daggers and pressed something that made fire blaze onto each of them.

"Your fire daggers don't scare me," I taunted.

"No? Well maybe they should…these daggers cut and burn flesh at the same time," said Demon.

We glared at each other. Brianna went up to Demon and laid a hand on his shoulder. Demon sighed and relaxed.

"Don't do that again, Blade," he said as the fire in his eyes became dormant. I gritted my teeth and put away my blades.

"Fine," I said.

"Finally. You two fight way too much. So, want to start sparring practice?" said Zane.

I nodded and he began calculating the best way to pair us into battle opponents that would bring us to our limits.

"Got it," Zane announced. What a nerd.

Xam motioned for him to tell her. They began talking quietly.

I sighed bitterly and stared out into the horizon. When they come, we'll be ready. And I'll show those idiots at Itex that I'm way better than Fang ever was, let alone Max.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Since there's some confusion on the other Flock's emotions, let me clear that up. They know the Flock better than themselves, correct. But that doesn't mean they have no emotions themselves. Try picturing normal hybrids enhanced by Itex to a super-superhuman/avian level. Then take that to the level of where they were taught to hate and kill a specific group. The others feel emotions, but **BECAUSE** they were basically engineered to kill Max and Co, they understand the Flock a lot better than themselves.

Iggy POV

I grunted as a red source of heat entered my vision. It was bright and large. Groaning, I sat up and stretched.

"Man, I thought I hated Max waking me up, but now…the sun is really starting to piss me off," I muttered, "Why do you have to be so dang bright and early?"

"Iggy?" moaned Nudge from across the clearing.

"The one and only," I answered her. Nudge was like my little sister, my extremely talkative little sister. Oh well, nothing to be done about that. Except have a stock of duct tape handy. I grinned and Nudge narrowed her eyes as she guessed what I was thinking.

After two milliseconds, Nudge yawned and stretched her small, thin arms. Blinking sleepily, she mumbled, "Why are you up so early? Last time I checked, Max had to scream in your ear before you open at least one eye."

"Sorry, I forgot to tell the sun to wait until 7:00 before rising," I replied with a serious expression.

Nudge laughed, then gasped as she saw Max and Fang's empty spots. She raised her eyebrows at me before squealing and hurrying over to Angel. Always jumping to conclusions, that's Nudge for you. But she's right, I can't help but wonder…

Suddenly, Max and Fang strode into the clearing, their faces calm, but tired. Gazzy stood up and rubbed his eyes, still half asleep.

"Where were you? Did you two admit that you like each other? Are you dating now? That would be so cool because you guys are already like our parents, but if you were actually married you could adopt us, and we could be your kids, and it would be so cool!" blurted Nudge.

Max and Fang both blushed, but the underlying expression on each of their faces were different. Max looked like "oh no, not this again. I DON'T like Fang!" while Fang looked…hopeful? I blanched and stared at my buddy.

Oh man, he likes Max. When did this happen? Why didn't he tell me? Oh, WHY am I ALWAYS the last person to know things?

No one else is surprised by Fang's look. Angel probably read his mind and told Nudge, who told Gazzy. Ugh, I always have to figure it out myself, don't I?

"No, actually we were talking last night about what to do and we kind of forgot to go back to camp. So, you guys ready?" asked Max.

"Yeah!" cheered the Flock. I looked at Fang, not believing Max's explanation for one second. He simply shrugged and sat down, tired. Deciding not to press the subject, I went to start a fire. Someone's gotta make breakfast, and Max just ain't perfecto in _that_ area.

"Hey, Iggy, you don't have to cook. We can eat at some fast-food restaurant," offered Nudge.

Max nodded agreeably and pointed out we were almost of food to cook anyway. I stood up and stretched. I would have preferred to sleep a couple more hours, but hey, with Max here, zero chance.

"So where to?" I asked.

Max shrugged and looked at Fang for suggestions. Lover boy was gazing at her absentmindedly before realizing Max wanted something from him.

He shrugged in response and opened his laptop.

"There's a diner a little ways east from here. We can go restock our food supply at the market next to it and from the looks of it, the area isn't very closed in. We'll have plenty of room to escape if the need arises," offered Fang.

Wow. That was a whole heck of a lot of words for him.

"Feel like talking today?" teased Max. Fang gave her a look (and not an I-love-you look, even though he probably wanted to. It was more like a haha, that's-very-funny look).

Max grinned, then said, "Alright, let's get going to that diner,"

We leaped into the air, just barely above the tree tops, and flew to the diner.

Max POV

Man, I swear, I'm going to die.

The smell of crispy, just-cooked bacon….ooohh I'm getting serious hunger pangs. Besides me, Nudge clutched the railing and moaned.

"Oh, I'm so hungry! That bacon tastes so good! I mean I think it tastes good because I haven't actually ate any, but oh my god! Jeez, that smell is intoxicating me! How much bacon can we afford? Wait, don't you have a card Max? Here I come bacon!" screamed Nudge as she began jumping up and down.

The boys looked like they were introduced to heaven. The waitress appeared after a couple moments. She was short, maybe five feet and four inches, and looked seventeen. Her curly brown hair came to her shoulder and her impish features were delicate-looking. She smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Jenny. How many people?"

"Six," I answered.

She faltered as she looked at us in our ragged clothes. Probably wondering if we were a group of runaways or thieves. Make up your own story, lady, the truth is a heck lot worse.

"Where's your supervisor?" she questioned hesitantly.

"That would be me, now would you give us a table? We're starving! I think you understand this," I said impatiently and held up my Maximum Ride card.

Jenny seemed to ponder about alerting the cops or letting us eat. After a while, she took six menus and smiled.

"Follow me, please"

Leading us through the maze of tables (which were surprisingly empty with no customers), we came to a stop at a large table near the window.

"Let me know when you're ready to order. In the meantime, would you like any drinks?" Jenny asked..

"If you could bring at least two pitchers of water, we'll be fine, thanks," I said without glancing up from the menu.

I imagine Jenny's jaw dropped, but she closed it quickly, recovering from her surprise. Barely able to speak, she nodded and left.

"Try to remain inconspicuous and not like a hybrid freak, ok Max? I'm going to kill you if we get kicked out of this place before having a chance to eat some bacon," said Iggy.

"Talk to Angel. She's the one with the mind powers to make sure we aren't kicked out," I said, "Right, sweetie?" Angel nodded.

I smiled then wrinkled my nose. The room was covered in yellow wallpaper with sunflowers that had that awfully lame _warmness_ to it. That feeling of phony happiness radiated off every single inch of the room. If you like that kind of stuff, well then I'm sorry, but I can _NOT _stand it.

"Eww!" remarked Nudge as she noticed our surroundings. Fang tapped his foot unhappily with a look of pure discomfort on his face. Nudge stuck out her tongue and Gazzy made a choking noise.

"Ok, if not for the bacon, I would say let's run. Somebody has really bad decorating taste," Iggy announced.

"No duh," I said, "Thank you for stating the obvious."

"You're welcome," replied Iggy contently.

"Should I get the steak or the eggs?" asked Fang suddenly.

I blinked, then realized he was staring at his menu, tapping his foot as he pondered what to order.

"Whichever one has bacon on the side," Iggy suggested.

"They both do, in fact I don't think anything on the menu _doesn't_ have bacon on the side,"

"Really? Wow, that's just…wow," I said.

"Your point? As far as I'm concerned, that's good. There's no freaking way you can't have bacon!" exclaimed Iggy.

I blinked. "There's no freaking way you can't have bacon!". That statement sounded wrong. Call me paranoid, but what if the bacon's mixed with some sleeping powder or something?

Fang sensed my unease and glanced at me. I frowned and sent him a doesn't-this-sound-suspicious look. He nodded and looked around him. Jenny hadn't come back yet…

I stood up and peered out the window. Numbers flashed before my eyes and a small beeping sound grew steadily louder and faster. _Aren't we just so popular?_

5…4….3….2…

Turning around, I shoved Angel and Gazzy under the table as I took cover myself.

"Everyone, DOWN!" I yelled.

The explosion that followed practically burst my eardrums. A bright light encased the room and heat filled the air. Right after the initial explosion, a shockwave followed and I could hear electricity wires fizzling and orange sparks of electricity flying. Smoke hissed around the room. Pieces of the ceiling came crashing down. Suddenly silence exploded into my ears. The explosion was over. I coughed and scrambled to my feet.

"Report!" I called out hoarsely.

Silence.

Panic rose in my chest, but I fought it down. I coughed again. That smoke is really getting to me. Note to self: Those mouth-mask doctors use while performing surgery would be a good thing to have. Next time I'm in an explosion, which is likely to be sometime soon, I won't be inhaling smoke and maybe getting lung cancer.

Stumbling through the mountain of debris around me, I coughed and yelled louder, "Report!"

From a corner of the room, under a charred wooden table top, a small voice replied, "I'm okay."

I sighed with relief and began trudging toward my little soldier.

"Hold on, Gazzy, I'll get the table off you," I said soothingly.

Within a few seconds, an ash-covered Gazzy stumbled up and sneezed.

"Wow! That was one freaking awesome bomb!" he exclaimed hoarsely. I rolled my eyes and ruffled his hair. Dust flew into the air and I coughed. This kid is one big dust-magnet. I waved my hand to clear the air and blinked several times. Stinging tears slid down my face, which I imagine to be pretty blackened.

"Did you see Nudge?" I asked.

"Right here! Max! Can you get me out of here?" squeaked a little voice from the corner of the room where a large ceiling piece and two blackened table legs lay collapsed over a small figure.

Alarms went off in my head, but I tried to remain calm.

"Ok, Nudge, try not to move anything. How'd this happen?" I muttered as I jumped over a wooden beam and walked over to her.

"Don't know, but could you hurry, Max? My arm hurts…" trailed off Nudge. She was crouching, her arm at an unusual angle. Blood dripped down slowly from her arm and fell to the floor.

Gazzy sucked in his breath and I tried my best to suppress a cry of fear. Hurrying over, I flung away the two table legs and slowly lifted the ceiling piece off of Nudge. Nudge groaned and hissed sharply

"Ow. Max, is my arm broken?" she asked quietly. I stroked her hair and gently settled Nudge into my lap.

"I think so, baby, but it doesn't look bad. We'll fix it, don't worry. Does it hurt?" I whispered softly.

"Kind of…I feel lightheaded and woozy. Hehehe, that's a funny word, woozy," mumbled Nudge. Her face was covered in dirt and her eyes were closed. I wiped away the blood using my sleeve.

"Gazzy, watch over Nudge, ok? I have to find everyone else. I'll be right back," I said, my voice seemingly confident. Gazzy nodded, his tough exterior kicking into action already. I gently set Nudge into Gazzy's arms. He then looked up, steely determination written all over his face. I smiled encouragingly and began searching for Angel.


	11. Chapter 11

Max POV

After an hour of searching, everyone was together again. We left the burning diner, not saying much, as we headed back to camp. Besides a whole lot of bruises and soot/ash, everyone was fine, with the exception of Nudge. My poor sweetie. Her arm had snapped, not a clean break unfortunately, so Iggy had to break it completely and get to work on healing it. Did I tell you? Iggy picked up a few medical tips from Mom while we stayed at her house. Nudge is braving it out, though. Only grumbling every now and then about how she feels _woozy _before giggling about how funny the word woozy sounds. She is one interesting kid, if nothing else.

I sighed and gritted my teeth. That bomb…

Fang's wingtip lightly touched mine and I glanced at him. His dark eyes seemed calm and reassuring. I exhaled, still feeling a little shaky. According to logic (who else's but mine?) the bomb was probably a backup. We were supposed to eat the bacon, fall asleep, and become captured. But because Jenny freaked out and ran off, plus the fact my paranoia got the better of me, our murderers decided to blow us up. Huh, too bad we're tougher than we look.

_So, what do you think?_

I shrugged in response. Don't feel like explaining my theory to Fang right now. Fang looked at me, waiting. Too bad.

_Max…_

_All right! I think the bacon was supposed to make us fall asleep so they could capture us, but because we figured that out, they decided to blow us up._

Fang tilted his head and pondered my theory. A sense of trouble invaded my mind and I slowed, flapping my wings to check around me. A small boy with wings abruptly whizzed past me. Gazzy flapped his wings frantically to come to a halt, but he was off by a bit. Flying back to Fang and I, his urgent expression started to worry me.

"Max! Our camp's been rummaged through," said Gazzy, pointing his finger at the clearing where cans lay tossed around and heavy footprints were evident in the ground. He bit his lip and looked at me with a worried expression.

"Why doesn't anything go according to schedule? Fang and Iggy were supposed to spar today and instead we end up becoming the target of a bomb while eating _breakfast_!" I muttered.

"Which we never ate," added Iggy, "Man, I really wanted some non-sleeping powder-filled bacon!" Just like him. Always thinking about food. I suppressed a grin though, because he was right. We never did get that bacon we were all pining for. And good thing too.

Fang peered down at the camp and looked at me.

"We have our stuff, most of it at least. What's down there is our sleeping bags and a few empty food cans. Let's just leave that there and keep going. I don't really want to risk going down there," he reasoned quietly. Someone's paranoid…but Fang's right. They, whoever they are, could be waiting. Or there might be another bomb. Either way, flying on seemed like a good idea.

"Well, then, where to now?" asked Iggy.

"Can we go to New York again? I can do some research there and Nudge would have time to heal," offered Angel brightly. Huh, New York. What is it with kids and New York?! Ok, I like New York too, but it's too predictable. I think.

Gazzy whispered something in Iggy's ear and both of them grinned before cackling like maniacs. Hmm..

"New York's good, Max. Angel's right, the library there is pretty good for researching and you know Nudge. Fashion obsessed and, looky here! New York is a big pop culture center. So how 'bout it?" pressed Iggy.

"You two are the worst liars in the world," I noted calmly.

They hesitated, shooting each other looks, before stammering, "Uh, what do you mean?"

I narrowed my eyes and glared at them suspiciously. Oh well, I'll just watch them for now. But in the meantime, breakfast! My stomach growled and I looked at my Flock.

"Anyone up for food? Like, safe food? Made by our wonderful chef, Iggy?" I suggested.

The Flock cheered while Iggy playfully shouted, "Hey! I'm not your slave! I choose whether to make food, not when you guys tell me to!"

Fang patted his shoulder and said, "You're outta luck buddy. Outvoted by five so better get cooking." Fang's face lit up with glee when he saw he had irritated Iggy. But his eyes were incredibly….hostile, competitive, challenging. Just about every adjective that means someone's looking for a fight. Strange…

I groaned as I saw Iggy's eyes light up in response to Fang's unspoken challenge. Men. Violent, angry, competitive. All about the macho and nothing about the brains. No offense, just that really seems stupid, don't ya think?

"All right guys, New York, then Iggy's homemade food. Agreed?" I announced. The Flock nodded. New York isn't too far…a couple states…er….northeast?

_Fang, where are we?_

_Ohio, we need to go northeast to get to New York._

Navigation instincts still working pretty good, apparently. I nodded my thanks to Fang before using my instincts to tilt the proper amount of degrees. My Flock immediately followed my adjusted course. Comes naturally to us. We are, after all, two percent bird.

Fang POV

After arriving in New York, Max got us two adjoining rooms at this three-star hotel. It's pretty good, nicer than camping in the subway tunnel for sure.

When we reached our rooms, Max announced calmly, "Boys in one room, girls in the other. It's easier this way. We'll eat at the hotel's buffet downstairs."

Nudge and Angel exchanged knowing looks before rolling their eyes. Gazzy and Iggy disappeared into their rooms, barely hiding their grins, while Nudge and Angel entered the other room. Max chuckled and followed Nudge and Angel, calling out to me to keep an eye on everybody because she was going to take a shower.

I sighed and went inside to see Gazzy and Iggy holding this gooey yellow stuff in a container. They looked at me and froze.

"Don't blow up the room, don't blow up the hotel, and don't blow up any flock member. If it's a bad guy, go ahead. Got it?" I said.

"What if we blow up the hotel room while we're blowing up the bad guy?" asked Gazzy.

"Even better," I said as I opened the door that led to the girl's room, "Just make sure the bad guy actually is dead, not real pissed off that you burned off his hair."

"The bad guys we fight are usually _bald_," mumbled Iggy.

"That's because they're metal flyboys! Flyboys are exterminated, and we still have people after us who probably aren't bald," argued Gazzy.

"Whatever, dude. Let's get this liquid in our bomb. Hey! Careful!" Iggy instructed.

I shook my head, hoping I wouldn't hear a crash of glass on the floor. Crash! Oh, joy.

"Clean that up before Max gets out!" I hollered.

"Uh, sure!" came Gazzy's voice.

Nudge and Angel were on the bed, bouncing up and down as they peered out the window.

"Wow, this is so cool!" whispered Angel happily.

"I LOVE that lady's top! It's so stylish and pretty!" screamed Nudge.

I smiled before re-entering the boy's room, where Gazzy and Iggy were crowded around a spot on the floor. There were two beds and one couch/pull-out bed. I collapsed onto the couch and stared at the ceiling.

Old Erasers? Yeah, right. Flyboys? Exterminated by the gov. after they caught the Director. Humans who have a grudge against us? Uh…really doubt it. After all, regular humans don't get their hands on a bomb like that so easily. New, scary _things_ that Itex created to try and destroy us one, last time? Hate to think so, hate to admit it, but the truth is…probably. Great.

Iggy and Gazzy laughed with relief from the corner of the hotel room. Apparently that gooey stuff doesn't stick to carpet, interestingly enough. I'm really hoping they're not gonna try and create a portable bomb that will be more effective and flashy than the one we just experienced. A bomb is fine, but that bomb was really powerful, and I'm surprised it only blew up the diner. But from the looks of it, Max is going to have a hard time stopping them.

Nudge bounced into the room smiling and waving her arms.

"I LOVE New York! Oh my god! I can't believe we're actually here again! Can we see the Empire State Building? Oh please, please, please!" squealed Nudge. This kid is the energizer bunny reincarnated, swear to God. _And_ she has the wonderful power of healing in less than an hour. We discovered that in the middle of our flight, when Nudge promptly declared with a strong voice, "My arm doesn't hurt anymore!"

Max had looked at her and blinked. She went as close as to Nudge as her wings would allow and examined Nudge's arm.

After a second, Max had grinned and said, "You're right. It's healed. I know we heal fast, but you must have a minor power to heal incredibly fast! Thank god."

Nudge had jumped when she realized she had the power to heal.

"Oh, that's is SO awesome!" she yelled.

Anyway, Nudge is completely healthy once again. I groaned and scratched my head.

"You'll have to ask Max if you want to go to the Empire State Building," I told her, "And she'll probably say no."

I sighed. Sometimes Max forgot how young the kids really were…they needed more relaxation, especially with all these tension right now.

"First of all, we're not too young. And second of all, THAT was SO cuute!" exclaimed Nudge, "You always know what Max is thinking! You two are meant to be together, I cannot believe it is taking you this long!"

Angel stood by the doorway of our adjoining rooms, nodding her agreement. I looked away, not wanting to be interrogated by an eleven year old and a six year old.

Angel stared at me, her gaze burning into my head.

_Fang, I know you admitted to yourself you like her._

_Angel, honey. I would prefer it if you and Nudge would stop meddling with my personal problems._

_Ha! You admit it! It's a problem you can't get together with Max._

_Nudge! Get out of my head!_

_But Angel's in it!_

_Both of you, OUT!_

_Don't have to scream, that hurts!_ thought Angel and Nudge at the same time.

I sighed, knowing they were right, but still annoyed they WERE right.

Max entered the room, dressed in jeans and a shirt. Her hair was still wet and I tried not to stare at her wet face and the droplets of water dripping from her jaw. Max sat down next to me and looked at Nudge and Angel with raised eyebrows.

"So what's up?" she said.

"Nudge wants to go to the Empire State Building," I explained. Max nodded with an 'uh-huh' expression on her face. Biting her lip, Max motioned for Nudge to sit on her lap. Nudge plopped herself onto Max, sending her thoughts of 'please! I want to see the Empire State Building!'

Max stroked Nudge's hair and examined her arm again. Completely healed.

"All right, we can go, but promise me you won't buy anything," she said.

Nudge nodded eagerly before asking, "Can we go at night? It looks the best at night!"

Uh-oh. Paranoia kicking in. Night, good because we have the cover of darkness but bad because thugs are everywhere in New York at night. Max seemed to think the same thing because she hesitated.

"Ok," she agreed and I stared at her. She was letting them go at night?!

"Oh, Fang, when do you want to spar Iggy?" she asked, her sharp crystal eyes gazing at me. They were so blue…and deep with emotion. Complex feelings…

I shook my head imperceptibly to clear my thoughts, then looked at Max. She waited patiently for my response.

"Spar Iggy? In New York? Yeah right! We can't fight in the middle of the city!" I told her.

"Actually, I was thinking of flying to an abandoned alley way for you guys to fight. But we'll eat first at the hotel's buffet," she said.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that. And it could work, provided gangsters didn't find us and try to beat us up, only to discover we were beating them up.

I shrugged. Max nodded and went over to notify Iggy. From across the room, I could feel Iggy tense with excitement of challenging my position in the Flock. He wanted to be second-in command. Well, that was too bad, because as long as I'm second-in command, I've got something to say.

Chapter 11, Part 2

Iggy POV

Fight Fang. Second-in command. My goal. I want to beat Fang, prove I'm better than him, and claim second rank. Ella would be impressed. But Fang is also like a brother and we're basically doing this because he needs his power. I groaned inwardly. I want to beat him, but I don't want to hurt him.

As we landed in the empty alley, Fang glanced at me for a second before turning away. I nearly stumbled as I landed. He was ready. He knew I wanted his position, and he was ready to defend it. His gaze felt almost hostile…but why? Oh right. He couldn't lose his position in front of Max. It would hurt his pride.

Max motioned for the rest of the flock to give us more room. They stepped back immediately, each of them sensing this fight was…dangerous. Fang stood across from me, looking sleepy and unobservant. It was a trick. In fact, Fang was very alert, focused, and tensed. I held up my fists.

Max POV

They better not kill each other.

"OK, on the count of five! 5……4……3……2……1….GO!"

Unlike, Gazzy and Angel's fight. Neither of them moved. They were waiting for the other to make the first move.

This is serious.

Suddenly, smoke blew into the air behind Iggy and he backed into it. What?! I said no bombs or weapons or anything like that. Fang looked surprised but he seemed to recover quickly. He launched himself into the air, hovering over the smoke screen. Iggy wasn't coming out. The smoke screen eventually blew away, but Iggy wasn't there.

Fang POV

Iggy's not in the smoke screen. I heard flapping and I whirled around just in time to catch a foot aimed for spine. Without hesitating, Iggy twisted and used his other leg to smack me in the head. I stumbled. Someone grabbed my shirt and punched me in the chest. I spit and coughed. Iggy was near my left…

A second later, a yelp of pain erupted from Iggy as I repeatedly smashed him with my wing. Iggy let go of my shirt and flew a few feet away. I blinked and watched as he charged. At the last second, I grabbed his shirt and twisted, slamming him towards the ground. He tried to fight me, but we crashed back into the alley. Dust filled the air. A foot made contact with my mouth.

_Pain is just a message._

Max must be thinking that. She's right. I located Iggy and grabbed his shirt. I slammed him into the wall repeatedly. He grabbed my shoulder and pushed against me, ramming me into the opposite wall. I slammed my knee into his stomach, causing him to curse before snapping a blow to his jaw. He tried to punch me, but I blocked it before sending my fist into his chest. He stumbled back.

We backed away a few feet. I glared at Iggy, watching him carefully. He did the same. Suddenly he leaped forward, flying into the air, foot outstretched. I grabbed his hand (ow, he was coming toward me really fast) and swung him to the ground. He sprung up and ran to the wall, leaped, and used the wall to kick into the air. He spread his wings, flying, until he was two feet away from me. Shooting towards me, Iggy kicked me to the ground before I could react. I coughed and grunted when a foot came in contact with my stomach. I rolled away from him, moving back as he advanced forward.

Iggy launched into a series of punches and kicks while I blocked them fluidly. Finally, I found a weak spot. Iggy had left his chest unprotected while he tried to punch me. I gathered my strength and slammed him hard on the chest. He crashed into the ground. I lifted him up and threw him against the wall. A loud thud rang through the air as body met brick. Looking at me, he threw a small metal ball. Smoke exploded into my face, and I winced, tears coming to my eyes. A fist smacked my jaw, a foot dug into my stomach. Fists rained repeatedly onto my face.

_Pain is just a message._

Right, Max's saying. I rolled away and leaped into the air, flying away from the smoke. Iggy followed shortly afterwards. I spun and dealt a roundhouse kick to his ribcage, and a cracking noise met my ears. Probably a few broken ribs, Max won't be happy with me. Iggy hissed and grabbed me. He pummeled me in the stomach five times in rapid succession before I clobbered his jaw and threw him off me. He flapped away, preparing to hit me again. I pulled in my wings, plummeting to the ground. At the last second, I spread them and landed on the roof of a building. Iggy tried to kick me from the air again, like last time, but I rolled away. Jumping up, I sped towards him, veering away at the last second. My wing struck him full on and he yelped as he fell down. I landed, picked him up, and thrashed him in the stomach. He barely suppressed his scream of pain. Another rib broke and he snapped. He grabbed my arm and threw me off the roof. I spread my wings and landed gently in the alley again.

He followed, but as he landed, he stumbled. Iggy was bleeding. But so was I. Blood dripped from my jaw where he had kicked and punched me several times. Iggy threw another smoke screen. I caught it and threw it back at him. Smoke erupted and Iggy coughed. Entering the smoke, I punched him in the jaw, kicked him in the stomach, and slammed him against the wall.

Max POV

This is horrible. They're beating each to the pulp. Both Fang and Iggy have taken several devastating blows. And yet the fight was still incredibly tense, so much so they couldn't even hear me screaming to stop. Fang threw a punch which Iggy blocked. Immediately, Fang jumped and landed a kick into Iggy's stomach. He stumbled back and swiped Fang's legs from under him. Fang rolled back and leaped into the air, twisting, as his foot made contact with Iggy' head. From there, Fang grabbed Iggy, crushed him onto the ground, and began to hit him in the gut repeatedly. Iggy didn't fight back. Fang let got and Iggy lay looking deathly pale and exhausted.

"You win," Iggy barely whispered audibly. Fang knelt down and lifted Iggy up. With Iggy's arm slung across Fang's neck, Fang helped Iggy limp toward us.

Both of them were covered in dust and dirt with blood streaking down their faces. Iggy was bleeding internally because Fang had broken some ribs while Fang appeared incredibly bruised.

I was too worried to scold them. Iggy must have noticed because he let got of Fang and stood up by himself. Whatever he may say, I knew he only had done so so I wouldn't worry. The pale boy with blue eyes and flaming red hair grinned tiredly, worn out but somehow satisfied.

"Wow, guys. I would never want to fight you," said Gazzy.

Nudge and Angel said in union, "No offense, but gross. You guys are all bloody and smelly! You know, Max told you to stop a billion times!"

That piece of information only seemed to make them both grin more widely. Back at the hotel, I made Fang and Iggy take a shower before eating the food I had brought up from the lunch buffet downstairs.

Iggy walked into the room in jeans and a shirt. He looked healthy and uninjured. He looked at me and grinned.

"I can heal in a short time too. Just like Nudge," he said. I blinked and sighed.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm going to run a quick summary in case it's a little confusing. **

**Max has this energy power thing which is proving to be extremely powerful. **

**Fang's power is of yet unknown.**

**Iggy's is manipulating fire! That's right! Give it up for our official Pyro! He also has the minor ability to see using heat signatures. **

**Nudge can morph into different animals and maybe even eventually, people.**

**Gazzy has the power of hyper-speed! He is now a walking, hyper-speed bomb. Very lethal. **

**Ah, and finally Angel. Our little kid can predict the future! Well kind of. In her words, "I can only predict your next movements that are going to affect ME." But…will Angel be able to see the future someday?**

**So, the Flock is in New York. The Others are somewhere planning. What does fate have in store for us?**

**P.S. I forgot to tell you, Nudge and Iggy can heal in a short time from not fatal injuries. Will the rest of the flock get the same side power?**

**Now here's a short filler! This is at the hotel the Flock is staying in at New York.**

Gazzy POV

Caution. Caution. Caution. DANGEROUS. Ah, here it is. I tossed away the other bomb materials and lifted up the small black bag with red letters. DANGEROUS: HIGHLY FLAMMABLE AND RADIOACTIVE EXPLOSIVES. Perfect.

I put down the bag and looked at small silver cylinder in front of me. This will be the most sophisticatedly beautiful engineered bomb in history.

"Gazzy? Where are you?" called Iggy.

"Quiet down man, I'm building BIG BOY IV," I said. He came in and gracefully sat down in one motion. I winced.

"At least, _try_ not to sit on anything that'll blow your butt off!" I hissed.

"Whatever dude. BIG BOY IV huh? I don't recall us building BIG BOY III…or II or I, for that matter," Iggy said.

"4 is a universally perfect number," I said as I drew construction plans.

"Really?" Iggy asked.

"No, but it's my favorite number. Wanna help? I'm using the black bag," I said.

Iggy's jaw dropped open. He looked at the black bag labeled DANGEROUS and stared at me.

"Dude, I…you…" Iggy shook his head speechlessly, "You're using THE black bag? THIS black bag? Dude, you said we wouldn't use this until we were going to make THE bomb!" I grinned and gave him the black bag.

"We are making THE bomb," I whispered. Iggy gawked at me and then slowly he smil-no, he _grinned_ manically.

"Dude…I'm totally IN!" said Iggy as he slapped a high five with me.

"IGGY! GAZZY! YOU BETTER NOT BE MAKING BOMBS!" yelled Max from the other room.

Iggy smirked and I tried not to burst into laughter. Oh, will Max be surprised with what we've got in store for her.

"Oi! Ya hear me? NO BOMBS!" Max shouted.

Iggy punched my arm and I dropped the empty vial.

CRASH!

We looked at each other with horror. Max.

Silence. Suddenly Max burst into the room and we looked at her, feigning innocence. Max glanced around and narrowed her eyes…

Max POV

"So. Anything you wanna tell me?" I asked suspiciously. They shrugged, not meeting my gaze. There was nothing around them, no shards of broken glass, no bomb, and no proof. No evidence, no punishment. I allowed myself a small smile at their constant friendship with trouble as I walked back into my room.

Gazzy POV

"That was close," I breathed. Iggy nodded.

"Way close, dude. I mean, we barely had time to sneak it under the bed!" Iggy said.

I chuckled and slapped fives with my best friend.


	13. Chapter 13

Max POV

_Shadows crept closer and closer. We retreated into an alley…that was way too dark for my liking. Beside me, I felt Nudge grab my arm._

"_Sweetie, it's ok. We're fine," I whispered to her. She gulped and nodded._

_A clatter behind us made me turn my head sharply. Nothing. Fang looked at me and I frowned. Another clatter from the end of this alley. Some footsteps at which I tensed. Whoever they were, they were moving very fast in hope to get us confused. Think again, fools._

_I let loose a low, threatening growl. Something shifted in the shadows. Silence._

"_Fang," I hissed._

_He turned his head slightly, a very small movement that no human could notice._

"_I'm gonna distract them. As soon as I leave, take the flock back to the hotel. Make sure no one's following," I said under my breath. He growled and shook his head, again a small movement._

"_On three…" I whispered. He tensed and his eyes blazed angrily at what I was about to do._

_Not on three, but one._

"_One," I breathed, then jumped into the air. I extended my wings and held them steady as I glided quickly to the end of the alley. Heavy footsteps were chasing me. I began running. It was going to be a chase in a maze. A cat-and-mouse chase. Except this mouse is going to become the cat._

_Suddenly, a girl's scream pierced the air._

"_MAAAAAX! MAAAX!" cried Nudge._

_My blood froze. No……NO!! I turned around. Where was she? I leaped into the air…only to be pulled back. A bag went over my head. I twisted, trying to harm my captor. My body felt numbed. I struggled to lift my heavy arms. I could feel myself fading..No. Stay awake. Nudge. You need to get Nudg-_

_Darkness._

I sat up. Where am I? Wait, this is…a bed. I'm at the hotel. No, where's Nudge? I leaped off the bed then froze, realizing for once it was probably just a bad dream.

I blinked. But it was so real. That dream…it was so REAL. A warm hand touched my cheek and I turned to see Fang. Shoot, I must have woken him up.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, bad dream," I mumbled.

He relaxed and nodded.

I looked at the clock on the bedside table. 3:00 AM. Crap.

"Oh geez, sorry I woke you up," I murmured, feeling bad. He raised his eyebrows and sat on the edge of the bed.

"It's all right, Max"

We sat in silence looking at the moon. I turned my head and was surprised to meet his gaze. He smiled and I felt lightheaded. Weird.

"Do you want to tell me about the dream?" he asked.

"…uh, it was nothing really. I was afraid Nudge was getting hurt by someone and I couldn't save her," I rushed rapidly, completely at loss at my sudden…confusion.

Fang's wings extended slowly, draping themselves around me, before replying softly, "Never ever worry about that. You're always with us and we'll always be with you. You do a good job of protecting the Flock, Max."

His words were like magic…something magical no one else had. I breathed in Fang's scent almost hungrily and closed my eyes. The day Fang and I separated throbbed painfully in my head, and I knew if he ever did something like that again…I wouldn't survive it.

Fang POV

I really wanted to tell her. Just three words, and they could change our lives forever. But Max was too frightened right now. She cared about the Flock, all of us, so much; I sometimes think she puts her entire being into taking care of us. Nothing mattered more to her. Nothing. I stared at Max as she closed her eyes sleepily, leaning her head on my shoulder. My heart ached and I closed my eyes.

"Max……I love you"


	14. Chapter 14

Angel POV

"Good morning everyone! Time to get up!" Fang called from his room. Iggy snorted and then yelped. Fang must have kicked him.

"1…2…3…FIRE IN THE HOLE!" crowed Gazzy. The faint smell of rotten fish and puke filled the air. Nudge groaned and smothered her face into the pillows.

Fang opened our door, coughing, and choked out, "Morning girls. Get up, 'kay?"

"Do me a favor Fang and take a shower," Nudge said, her face still mashed into the pillow.

Fang winced and thought, _That bad?_

_YES! _Nudge and I screamed in his head.

He chuckled and said, "Ok, I'll take a shower A.S.A.P." Suddenly, Max burst through the doors carrying pizza.

"Rise and shine, guys! Pizza only after you've brushed!" she called. Nudge and I leaped out of bed, rushing to the bathroom. Max laughed as we tripped over each other, shouting our greetings to her as we passed. I noticed Fang seemed to look at her a little longer before followings us out…when will Max realize he loves her? It's like one of those secrets everyone knows except the person the secret's about. That just won't do.

I'm going to give Max a wake up call after breakfast.

Max POV

I blinked. The Flock was hungrily devouring the pizza, like a pack of starving wolves. Yes, we are disgusting, but we also do tend to save the world, so I guess that makes up for it.

Fang hadn't told anyone about my breakdown last night, and this morning, he didn't even tease me about it. Usually, I'd be glad for a break…but it just felt odd. Fang wasn't being Fang. I sighed, hoping he wasn't some bad guy clone. My neck hairs prickled, and I suddenly felt like I was being watched. Glancing around, I found myself making eye contact with Angel. Her calm blue eyes had taken a stormy gray shade.

_Max, I need to tell you something._

_Shoot away._

_Ever since the eclipse, we've received the ability to communicate via thoughts right? Well, it happens that our mental strength and defense has also increased. Basically, breaking into your mind and getting information isn't as easy as it used to be._

_So unless we have our guard down, our minds are close to impenetrable?_

_Yup._

_Gee._

_I know._

_But your power, it still works pretty well on, like, normal people?_

_Yeah, I think so._

Angel looked like she wanted to say something else, but she didn't. I smiled at her, pondering over this piece of new information. Gazzy's fart explosion wafted through the air, causing uncomfortable reactions in the senses. How the heck am I gonna explain to the hotel staff that the room smells like puke and rotten fish?

"Our pet fish, Wilbur, just died and Iggy puked this morning," Gazzy mumbled through bits of pizza.

I gave him a look and he shrugged happily.

**A couple hours later**

Max POV

"Hey Max! Can we go in there? I need some new clothes," Nudge pleaded as we passed another clothes store.

"And, oh my god, let's eat there! It smells awesome!" Nudge added as we passed a restaurant. Her stomach grumbled as if to prove her point.

"Hey make up your mind, food or clothes?" Iggy asked.

"Uh, food or clothes? Right…um…oh, this is hard," Nudge muttered rapidly to herself.

I chuckled and said, "Let's eat first. We can go shopping afterwards."

"Yay!" squealed Nudge. Gazzy groaned.

"I hate shopping," Gazzy complained.

"We'll go to Gamestop when Nudge is finished," I suggested.

Gazzy immediately grinned at me and stopped complaining. And if you haven't realized it yet, we're walking the streets of New York. Just like tourists. Why? Cuz I promised Nudge a day of fun and the Empire State Building. Actually I promised her the Empire State Building yesterday, during Fang and Iggy's fight. But their fight took longer than I expected, so there was a change of plans. And Nudge demanded a "fun day" in compensation for my "broken promise". So here I am.

I opened the door to the restaurant and looked around. It was like a Chinese buffet.

"Awesome! I love Chinese food!" cried Nudge.

"Good afternoon, I'm May. Six?" inquired a pleasant young Chinese woman.

"Yeah, six people," I replied.

"Follow me, please," May instructed, then led us to a table near the windows.

"Would you like to eat the buffet or order from our menu?" she asked.

"Buffet," I replied, thinking how we would all eat tons. She nodded and left.

A lot of other people were talking and laughing near us. Seems pretty safe. No death threat while eating…like the bomb at that bacon restaurant. My flock seemed to remember as well and they tensed.

"It's okay, guys. You can relax, trust me. We'll be fine. There's, like, more than five dozen people here! It's impossible someone would try to kill us at a spot with so many people," I reassured my flock. Everyone sighed and Nudge and Angel began arguing about what to eat first.

"Nice," Fang offered.

I half-smiled, totally confused about Fang's actions as of late, before opening the menu. I mean, don't YOU find it a bit odd? He's been really…gentlemanly lately. It's like, 'where's Fang and what have you done with him?'

I'm proud to say we ate until the buffet had to be replenished by the restaurant. I've never been so satisfied in my life.

Gazzy belched and Iggy slapped fives with him at my glaring eye of disapproval. May brought us the check. 150 dollars. Wow. I gave May the card and she left. Must have been 25 dollars per person.

After eating we stopped by maybe a dozen clothes stores. Nudge was on a total shopping spree. Fang looked so miserable as he carried all of Nudge's shopping bags, that I took one look at him and cracked up.

"Shut it," he muttered darkly. I tried to say something back, but I was laughing way too hard.

"Guys! I see a Gamestop!" interrupted Gazzy. He took off and Iggy raced after him. Nudge glared after them before dropping the jeans she was examining. I chuckled and wondered what Angel was doing.

"Angel?"

Silence…my blood froze as I whirled around anxiously, searching the streets for any sign of a small, blonde girl.

"Angel?!" I yelled. Several people stared at me, but I ignored them. I began racing back to the last store we were at, Fang next to me, when Angel walked out of another store, carrying a big shopping bag.

I sighed and called to her, "Sweetie, don't do that again! I thought I lost you!"

Angel smiled and hugged me.

"Sorry, Max, I had to go buy some things at that store, and since Nudge usually takes a long time, I thought it would be, ok," Angel explained.

"Next time tell me," I said.

"Ok!" Angel said cheerfully. Then she danced to where Nudge was sulking by the door of Gamestop.

"Wonder what she got…" I said to myself.

Fang smiled and said nothing as he followed Angel. Hmm.

After an immensely tiring day (it was great for Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, and Iggy), Fang and I collapsed back at the hotel.

"I'm never doing that again," I declared to Fang.

He gave me a wry smile and said, "Yes, you will."

"Yup, probably," I groaned, "But at least let me pretend that's the last time I have to do that!"

"Ya should've gotten something for yourself," he said, "Then it wouldn't seem so horrible."

I raised my eyebrows. Fang just stared at me, his dark, dark brown eyes transfixing me…

"Max? When are we going to the Empire State building?" Nudge asked. I blinked then turned to look at her.

"Aw, come on Nudge, I'm so tired!" I wailed.

"Maaax! You promised! " Nudge complained.

"Fine," I pouted, "Give me ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?!"

"Take it or leave it," I told her. Then I collapsed onto the bed and pulled a pillow over my head. Fang chuckled and rubbed my shoulder. I was surprised, but didn't move. No energy left…

Pulling the covers over me, Fang's presence slowly left the room. A couple minutes (or maybe shorter…I have no idea right now), sleepiness began to crawl over me.

Fang POV

I returned to Max a couple minutes later and found she was sleeping. I stroked her hair and turned off the lights.

Nudge POV

"Hey! Guys! Max is sleeping so I'll take you to the Empire State building instead, ok?" Fang announced. I shrugged.

"Hey, let's get going. You wanna go or not?" he called from the front door. As we rushed towards him, I noticed Fang seemed to be thinking about something. His expression was so tender and caring it was _strange_ to see it on _Fang's_ face. It must be about Max.

_That's so cute, _I told him.

_What? _Fang asked.

_How much you love her! _I squealed in his mind.

He half-smiled in response, to the extreme annoyance of Iggy and Gazzy.

"I can't believe he's that lovesick!" Iggy muttered to Gazzy.

"I know!" Gazzy replied.

Fang POV

I love the night. Its fresh, crisp feeling was one of the best things in the world. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, relaxing in the chill city evening. The bright lights of New York glinted and gleamed so flamboyantly, it sorta lit up the sky with the stories of human life at night. Gosh, I could live here. It's just so absolutely beautiful and safe. Crowds of people walked the sidewalks. Couples held hands and walked around, smitten with each other. Nudge and Angel bounced around happily. Iggy and Gazzy were talking about bombs, again. And I was perfectly at home in this kind of environment.

We walked along the sidewalk for a while, browsing stores and eating food. I brought the Flock to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Then we watched a street musician perform proudly, regardless of all he did not have. Or maybe he thought of it differently…all that he DID have. I added a couple dollars to his vast collection of crinkled bills and spare change before ushering the Flock on. It was pretty amazing cause everyone was so happy.

I wish Max was here.

"Hey Fang! Can we go to the Empire State Building now?" Nudge called from a couple feet ahead of me.

"Sure, let's get directions," I called to her over the loud buzz of the crowds.

I entered a convenience store and asked the cashier for directions. He drew on a map he had and gave it to me.

"Thanks," I told him. He nodded and I left.

Outside, I looked at my flock, and said, "You guys wanna take a risk?"

They met me with eager expressions, just as Max once described to me. _We live for danger. It's rather interesting when you think of the regular kids so happy playing their video games, then us thrilled to be fighting for our lives every single day of our entire lives._

Anyways, a minute later we were flying above New York City, our wings riding the tranquil wind. It felt wonderful, to fly. As we descended closer to the city, I knew we were going to be more easily spotted.

"Aim for that alley," I shouted, "It looks dark enough."

The flock nodded and we glided smoothly back to ground. The alley was actually pretty close to the Empire State Building and we walked to the entrance in under a minute.

Angel POV

I looked out at New York City from the Empire State Building and gasped. The view was amazing. Nudge squealed with joy. I was perfectly content to stay here and just….see.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm actually here! This is so cool! " Nudge shrieked from beside me.

Several people looked at her and laughed.

Nudge blushed and mumbled, "Oh, sorry."

Beside me, Fang was staring out, almost lost in the city.

"I wish Max was here," Nudge said.

I nodded.

Fang gave us a wry smile, shaking his head ruefully.

"Tomorrow we'll drag her up here. I promise," he said. Nudge's eyes brightened.

"REALLY?" she asked.

"You bet," Fang remarked to us with a grin.

"She'll be really pissed, man," Iggy said.

"Incredibly freakin' pissed," agreed Gazzy.

Fang looked at them. When had Iggy and Gazzy not wanted to do something that would piss Max off?

"Dude, we're so helping you," they said together.

The answer? Never.

Max POV

I woke up and stretched. That was the best nap I've had in ages. No nightmares, no worries. Perfect.

"Guys?" I called. I wonder if ten minutes passed yet.

Nobody answered. I got up, turned on the light, and saw the note. Or, rather…notes.

First note:

Max,

You fell asleep and the Flock and I agreed that it was best to let you stay like that. I'm going to take them to see the Empire State Building. We'll bring you dinner and don't worry, we'll be fine. We'll be back around 11:00.

See ya soon,

Fang

Huh. Fang's handwriting is really messy. I like it for some reason though.

The second note:

Hello Maximum Ride. Regardless of how much I want to meet you in person, this time I'm simply delivering some bad news. Your precious flock has gone sightseeing at the Empire State building…which you think is completely according to plan. But see, the problem there is we've managed to locate them. And currently, we have them hostage, ready to be killed in the most gruesome way (I can assure you of that). There is nothing you can do…unless you are willing to sacrifice yourself to save them. If you are, we'll be waiting in the Artic. Good luck, Maximum Ride. I hope you have the courage it takes to rescue your flock…otherwise I will _genuinely_ be_ disappointed_.

Sincerely,

Blade

The world seemed to freeze. My heart pounded in my chest………thump………thump…………thump……

It finally kicked in.

I rushed to the window, smashing the glass with my fist

Thump……thump……thump……

I threw myself out. The shards of glass painfully piercing my skin and wings, but I couldn't feel it any of it at all. There was only one thing echoing in my ears.

Thump……thump……thump

Fang POV

I stared blankly at the shape hurtling towards me. It looked so strangely…_human_.

I frowned and heard Angel cry out, "Fang!" as she tugged my sleeve urgently.

"Not now, sweetie," I murmured to her.

"But I'm getting a really bad feeling…we have to leave now!" Angel insisted.

The shape was a girl. But how? Wait.

"FANG! Look!" shouted Gazzy, his voice slightly trembling. I glanced around quickly at his strange tone, but there was nothing unusual. Just people. I quickly refocused on the shape, which was now getting ever closer. Suddenly I knew.

Max.

Max POV

Fang's eyes widened as he realized I was soaring towards him at 200 mph. But it wasn't fast enough. A dark haired boy with blazing red wings landed behind Fang. I started mouthing the words to him, but he didn't seem to understand.

_FANG, TURN AROUND!!!!!!!_

_Wha-_

Too late…a net dropped over the entire Flock.

Too. Late.

Fang POV

What was she saying? Suddenly, I net entrapped me, and a voice chuckled from behind me. I struggled ferociously immediately, instinct kicking in.

"Don't bother," drawled a dark…familiar? voice said.

I whirled around and a net went over the Flock and me. A boy with black hair and dark eyes smirked at me. Strangely enough, he reminded me of someone I knew…

"We'll talk when you wake up," he said calmly. I wanted to snap some nasty remark but I felt…numbed. What was going on? My eyes landed on the fine white powders lace on the net. White powder…? I heard the gasps of the normal people around us. They wouldn't help. Too afraid. The Flock thrashed against the net angrily, but the material, whatever it was, held. All of us were so tired…

"Fang! FANG!" cried a voice. I turned my head towards it. It was ever so familiar, but my eyelids were already drooping….

Blackness.

Max POV

I immediately hyper-speeded into one of them, causing him to stumble. He grunted in annoyance and snapped a kick to my head. I grabbed his foot and twisted. He gritted his teeth and they flew faster. Suddenly I remembered. My power. Then my heart broke. I couldn't send a big energy ball towards them and maybe hurt the Flock. And there was no reason to tag along like a dog and not be able to do anything. I could follow them, but they would know. And I'm guessing they would send someone else to take care of me if I did follow.

Tears streaked my face and I retracted my wings. Slowly, I began to fall through the air. I closed my eyes. I let this happen.

I wasn't with my Flock.


	15. Chapter 15

Darkness. That's all I could remember. And pain, too much of it.

_Max…wake up,_ urged the Voice.I groaned. An empty feeling echoed throughout my body…something bad had happened. But what? I couldn't remember. Or maybe I didn't want to.

_Max. It's not over. Trust me. _Images flashed through my head. A dark haired boy enclosed by a net. Screams. Wings. Flock…Bolting awake, I felt my heart speeding at 300 mph. The dream…or no, not a dream…that was rea-Oh god, NO!!!

What if there was no hope left?

Suddenly, a wave of heat rushed over me, and I clutched my head, the room blurring in and out of focus.

"AGHHHH!!!!" I cried, then slumped backwards. Sweat poured down my face. I was totally alone and there seemed to be no immediate danger…but how did I end up here?

I was in a house.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel paced around, practicing his cover. The girl…what to say to the girl? Daniel couldn't figure out what was wrong, even being a young prodigy in the field of medicine.

"AGHHHH!!!!" cried a voice in pain. Maybe it was time to check on her again…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeez, what a headache. Last time I got these things, I was going half-insane…not that's new or anything.

The door was locked. Of course.

Flashback:

_Tears streaked my face and I retracted my wings. Slowly, I began to fall through the air. I closed my eyes. I let this happen._

_I wasn't with my Flock._

Huh. If I blacked out like that…how come I'm still alive? I checked over myself again, suspiciously staring at the highly colored bruised covering my skin. That's it? A _bruise_? Last time I checked, New York pavement ain't exactly soft.

_Creak._

The door knob turned slowly and a kid's head popped through the doorway. I blinked. _What the..?_

He seemed to be thinking the exact same thing, cause for about a second, we just stared at each other, completely surprised.

Then he recovered, entering the room.

"Hey," he greeted. My eyes quickly assessed whether he was a threat. Looked fourteen, tall, and overall, completely innocent. The kid blinked, and chuckled. Whoa…who does that remind me of?

"Hey," I replied cautiously.

He smiled, revealing his perfectly white teeth. The name…it's right on the tip of my tongue. Maybe some TV actor or something.

"My name's Daniel. I um, found you on the pavement in the street…and man, I gotta say you were really badly injured, blood and the sort," explained Daniel with a wry smile, "I brought you back here and did an analysis, but everything seems to be in good shape. Well. Not counting your bruises and whatnot."

I rubbed my arm, thinking. This kid was rather young to be a doctor.

"Oh- yeah, you're probably thinking I'm a bit young to have a job, let alone be a doctor. And you're right. I'm sixteen, but the brains seem to run in my family. I graduated college with a PhD…all set to go," he said ruefully. I blinked. There was a tone of sadness in his voice…but I just couldn't understand why. If I'd been smart and ready to go in life, I'd be happy as hell. But…being a genius, he probably got teased and his parents and everyone must expect so much out of him. Kind of like me. Save the world, Max, blah blah blah, it's your destiny. Kinda gets old. Not to mention the amount of _stress._

Looking up, I offered, "I'm Max. Bruises…tend to like me, but I hope they didn't scare you or anything." He laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, I just assumed you played a contact sport or something. I mean, geez, you're fit," Daniel noted with a look of interest.

I looked around uncomfortably. Daniel had blonde hair and blue eyes, but something about him, his features or something was starting to…hit me _hard_. I mean, not in that way, but like, I swear….I _know_ this guy! He gazed at me with his sharp features and stunning eyes…my heart flipped. Strangely, another part of me felt…..guilt.

Fang.

Daniel walked towards me, leaning closer. And closer. And closer…

I moved away.

"Thank you…for helping me," I said shakily. Oh my god.

"You're welcome," he replied calmly, "So…what happened?"

He looked at me patiently, his cool gaze again painfully familiar, yet so new. If that makes sense? Damn, it's killing me, not knowing who Daniel reminds me of. And I'm going to kill myself as soon as my head clears. I can't think near this guy!

"It's a really long story," I breathed. I could just imagine Fang chuckling at that.

Daniel stroked my hair and smiled.

"I've got time"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fang blinked drowsily. He could barely remember anything…except…

Max! Adrenaline shot through his body. Wide awake, Fang quickly checked his surroundings.

He was in a storage room. No guards. Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were lying next to him, still out of it.

Approaching the door, he jerked at the doorknob. No luck. Fang sighed then wandered back to the Flock. He sat down, deep in thinking. Max's worried face sprung up in his mind. Then this kid…his cruel, sadistic grin. Wait…the powder! That must have been it. It was on the net. Hmm, if it was the powder…they probably inhaled some kind of sleep drug. Fang scoffed out loud. Strong drug. Fang could recall _very _easily the feeling of being helpless.

He didn't like it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xam studied the screen carefully. The older, dark-haired boy, Fang, had woken up. He tried the door (as if it would be unlocked) and then retreated back to his friends. Anger blazed through her body as Xam stared intently at the screen. How could this boy love Max? He was much better than her…Max only made him weak. Xam scoffed. She would show him…in fact, she would help. Xam was going to personally dispose of Max. And maybe Fang would come to be friends with her instead of Max. Impatience flashed quickly across her face as Xam turned away.

"Don't worry Fang…not much longer. Not much longer at all…"

Xam grinned to herself, her dark brown eyes shining with anticipation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel blinked. And then he blinked again.

Wings…

Max simply stared at him, waiting for his reaction. He read so many feelings on her face…hope, sadness, and maybe most of all, a sense of premonition as to what Daniel was most likely to react. Rubbing his chin absentmindedly, he considered such a thing. Max stood up, took off her sweatshirt, and slowly spread her wings.

They were…beautiful. It was something so breathtaking that words just didn't serve it right. Daniel stroked the feathers, amazed at its silkiness, and turned towards Max.

"And the Flock?" he asked softly. Pain immediately conflicted Max's face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't to mean to hur-"

"No, it's ok, Dan," Max murmured. Daniel grinned secretly in pleasure. Max was beginning to trust him. Max was beginning to _like_ him.

"I…I lost them," she said quietly, "They were captured and-and, it was all my fault!"

Max's eyes immediately clouded.

"I was resting back at the hotel we were staying at and they had gone to take a tour of New York. Then…they were captured," she explained.

"By who? Itex?" Daniel murmured. Max shook her head hesitantly.

"I don't know, maybe. It was…another flock. And they were stronger than us. Too strong…."

Daniel only looked at her, unsure how to handle this. In the end, he simply hugged her. She cried silently into his shirt, her body shaking with pain.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel so weak…I don't even break down like this that often!" she whispered to me.

He smiled, she definitely trusted him. Even Fang never got this far with her in such a short time.

"It'll be all right, Max. We'll go find 'em as soon as possible. And…if you'll let me, I want to help"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

God, Daniel must think I'm a freak! Oh. Wait, that wouldn't be entirely wrong…

I slowly extracted myself from his hug, and looked down. I knew my whole face was aflame, not to mention Daniel looked a little uncomfortable, making this whole situation just a _teeny _bit more awkward.

"Sorry," I mumbled, hating myself. _Stupid, stupid Max!_

"It's all right," he said calmly, patting me on the back. "Restroom's down the hall to the left," Daniel offered before I could ask him. I blinked. He knew exactly what I was thinking, just like…Fang.

Fang! Oh darn, I better hurry up. Christ, how much time have I wasted already?

"Thanks," I said quickly, smiled, and then hurried out the door. Restroom, restroom, restroom, ah! Found it. Opening the door, I locked myself inside, and turned to face the mirror.

It was pearly white and decorated with several geometric patterns. _Rich family,_ I thought.

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Daniel tapped his foot, thinking. His "parents" would definitely pose a problem to Max. So his explanation…

Hmm. He was supposed to be a medical genius. Maybe he got a job offering half way across the world? Even better, maybe there was an important meeting that would take him away from home for a several weeks. Yes, that would work. Business trip. People did that all the time nowadays, didn't they?

Rummaging around the room for a piece of paper, Daniel brought out a pen. He better make this sound authentic.

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I finished up in the restroom, feeling better. _Note to self: No more mental breakdowns_. Glancing in the mirror again, I paused. The girl before me looked so much different than the last time I had seen her. Even though I had taken a shower, she looked tired and tough. But…she didn't look like me. She was _pretty._ Like a girl.

I shook my head, whatever. I'll blame it on Nudge's shopping.

"Daniel?" I called, in the hallway.

"Over here," came a voice from the room up front, probably the kitchen from the looks of it. I wandered in, following Daniel's hand as it scrawled a note on a piece of paper.

"My parents," he explained absentmindedly. "Make sure they don't worry and all that." I nodded, suddenly thinking about Mom and Ella. I should check up on them soon…

Leaning over his hunched form, I read it silently.

_Mom and Dad,_

_Business has called me away for awhile. It may take up to several months, so don't worry. I promise I'll call you as often as possible. It's just a meeting, I think, about new medical products and the better promotion of our company. Stuff like that. Can't tell you where I'm going though, boss doesn't want people (meaning media) to know about this meeting. So if any reporters come knocking, please say I'm out with friends. Thanks._

_Love your son,_

_Daniel Wycliffe_

My breath caught in my throat. This kid had a family and everything…

Had I really forgotten that? It was dangerous and Daniel was just a normal human. There was no way I could do this to a family.

"You shouldn't come. I mean, I appreciate everything you've done, but this is not your fight. I don't think you understand how dangerous this really is. People _do_ get hurt, badly, where I'm concerned. I also don't think your pare-"

"My parents will be fine. And so will I, Max. Trust me," He flashed me a reassuring smile, and I nodded. Doubt still ensnared my heart, but there seemed to be nothing I could do to stop him.

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Outside, in the streets of New York, my eyes automatically raked the surroundings for a small alley. It was best to take off unseen, as I had learned very thoroughly from experience.

Daniel cleared his throat, shuffling his feet. I turned to him and a red tinge flooded his cheeks.

"I can't fly, Max," he reminded me gruffly. Well, no fricking duh. I nearly slapped myself. I must be getting amnesia…

"Right. So, uh, what should we do?" I said without much hope. To my surprise, Daniel smiled.

"I want to show you New York," Daniel suggested. "After that, we'll take a taxi to a car rental and continue our mission."

"But-" I protested. He put his hand over my mouth, his ocean-blue eyes glittering. Tucking my hair behind my ear, he looked at me intently.

"Please, Max"

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New York was _amazing_. Period. I mean, every teen wants to come here, but I've never really had the time to understand why (*cough cough* Erasers *cough cough*). I happily inhaled the scent of honey-roasted peanuts and hot dogs, the wonderful aroma calling to my ever-hungry stomach. Seeing my expression, Danny chuckled and bought a large bag of peanuts.

Ok, so obvious rule of etiquette, no devouring food at light speed in public. However, I am a starving mutant with honey-roasted peanuts. I say screw etiquette (and you wonder why officials tend to look down on me). Strangely enough, Daniel didn't seem to find my eating habits at all unusual. _Must be a guy thing_, I thought.

We passed the Rockefeller Center (Atlas still looking strained under that globe), and then headed to Central Park. A small breeze washes over us, causing the trees to sway lightly. Daniel brings out a bag of bird feed and smiles. "Watch this."

Dropping several seeds around us, we watch as pigeons to flock over like bears to honey. Several landed on Daniel, pecking at his fingers and face. I took one look at him and cracked up. Grinning widely, he threw me the bag. I caught it, and tossed it to the air. Seeds rained down on us and Daniel yelped with surprise. Laughing hard, I leaned against him. I was so happy.

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Aqua studied her brother and the prey walking in the park. He was touching, laughing, and talking to her. _He was letting his guard down_. What was he doing?! They seemed to be so enwrapped into each other, like the whole world no longer existed. Understanding hit her like a bucket of cold water.

"Oh no…" Fear washed down her spine as she thought about what would happen if Xam knew. "Oh no, no, no…we're all in danger now. I must talk to Blade as soon as possible."

She looked at the screen again and worry clenched her stomach. This wasn't supposed to happen…

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It started to rain. The droplets were lightly and ignorable at first, but grew in size and frequency. Round pebbles of cold water touched my skin, and I turned to Daniel. He was smiling widely, face to the sky. His feathery blond hair clung to his face, wet, and his blue eyes sparkled, reflecting the color of the grey-blue sky.

He looked like an angel.

The droplets poured down on us and I laughed with Daniel as we rushed to the cover of a store's canopy. Breathing hard, I looked at Daniel, and a strange emotion rushed over me. He smiled, and whispered breathlessly, "See? I told you it was worth it."

I grinned, half-blushing, and answered, "Yep, you're right. New York's amazing." Daniel's blue eyes, now the color of the dark ocean, gazed deeply into mine, and I felt my heart miss a beat. _Oh crap, _I thought.

Daniel leaned towards me, his warm breath touching my skin. My nerves shot into hyper-drive as his luminous sapphire eyes gazed so closely at me. Then I did the weirdest thing in the whole entire frickin _galaxy_: I didn't run away from him.

His lips pressed softly against mine, and I closed my eyes, my heart thudding rapidly in my chest.

_The Flock!_ my brain screamed numbly. _Remember them? And Fang!_

I kissed him back, my whole body on alert and yet at the same time, everything felt disoriented. Encouraged, he pressed harder, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth. I began to feel hot all over…

Finally, I stepped out of my daze, and broke away. Daniel looked at me, half-wounded, and half-confused.

"What's wrong, Max?"

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It had been amazing, so amazing, until she broke away from me.

"What's wrong, Max?" I asked. She looked so confused. Looking at me, a red blush touched her cheeks and I suppressed the urge to kiss her again.

"I...I don't know," Max murmured. "I think maybe we should start looking for the Flock now."

Disappointment flooded my body. I had thought she liked it, but it seems she was saying otherwise. I nodded gravely, and hailed a taxi cab.

Holding the door open for Max, I watched as she got in, her blonde hair still pretty wet, and her beautiful brown eyes muddled with so many emotions. It had felt so right. But…my job wasn't to love her. My job was to kill her.


End file.
